Rising
by Asanisan
Summary: Sakura, rising to meet the challenges of life. *hiatus*
1. Lighter

Author: Sani

Rating: M

**Rising:** Chapter 1

Lighter

It had been a long day. Again.

'_Sixteen patients today and my chakra is down to zilch. Jeez…'_ Sakura sighed to herself. '_And Arakawa-san wouldn't keep his hands to himself, the perv. I feel violated. A medic-nin shouldn't have to put up with that crap!'_

'**_You should've just let me slug him!'_** Inner Sakura whined.

'_He's a patient!' _

'_**So?**'_

'_I'm supposed to heal his injuries, not give him more! Besides, he won't be back for a while. He's now fit as a fiddle thanks to my awesome skills!'_ Sakura flashed her inner self a proud grin.

'**_I still say physical punishment was fitting. Did you see that cheeky grin on his face! He deserved every one of those wounds he came in with! Y'know, I bet it was his girlfriend that did it to him!' _**laughed Inner Sakura. The image of the petite blond who picked him up throttling him into the ground was hilarious. Sakura just had to laugh along.

'_What do you say we head home?' _Sakura suggested after her mirth subsided.

'**_Yeah, let's. I'm beat.'_**

Sakura had to agree. Her charka was great nowadays, but healing so much really took it out of her. She emerged from the hallway she had just been walking down out into the hospital's lobby.

"Hey, Miki-chan," Sakura greeted the receptionists behind the front desk.

"Hi, Saku-chan. Calling it a night?" asked the woman known as Miki-chan. She handed Sakura the sign-out sheet along with some patient files that needed initialing before Sakura left. Sakura quickly jotted down all the required signatures. She had already reviewed what was on them before they even made it to Miki-chan. It was all just red tape and standard procedure.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be heading out," Sakura answered as she filled out the forms. "Wait. Did you say night?"

"Of course silly! It's eleven thirty, sweetheart. Didn't you notice?" laughed Mikita.

"Wow, I guess I didn't!"

"Man, Sakura-chan! That's the fourth time this month that you've done that! And you only work here one day of the week! You work too hard, girlfriend," Mikita said worriedly.

"Maybe," Sakura said as she shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes, maybe! Now I want you off to bed this instant," commanded Mikita, stomping her foot in a motherly way.

"Alright, alright," Sakura laughed. "Sure there's not anyone left for me to help," she joked, trying to get a rise out of Mikita.

"Absolutely not!" she scolded. "Besides, the place is empty for once."

"Really?"

Sakura turned to take stock of the lobby. Same turquoise curtains, same rich blue and gray tile. The beige sitting chairs lined the walls and the fluorescent lights glared like usual. There was something off about the room, though, besides the slight wilting of the numerous potted plants. There were no people waiting.

"Kami-sama, you're right!" gasped Sakura. "How long has it been like this?"

"For awhile now. Arakawa-san was the last in, the stupid perv."

"He hit on you too, eh?

"Did you notice that one bruise on his left bicep?"

"Yeah…"

"That's one that his girlfriend didn't get in."

"Aa, I see." Sakura tried her hardest to suppress the smile, but it still wriggled its way onto her face.

"Well, Mikita," said Sakura as she handed back all the files, "I'm off. See ya next Saturday."

"Have a nice night, Saku-chan!"

Sakura just waved as she walked out the front door. Her bed was calling her name all the way across town.

* * *

There it was.

'_The old training ground' _she thought.

'**_This again?'_** complained Inner Sakura.**_ 'We're stronger than this, girl.'_**

'_I know.'_

'**_So why do you keep doing this to yourself? We have a life now, Sakura! One that doesn't involve him!'_**

'_Is that what I really want, though?'_

'**_That's irrelevant and you know it! Sakura, we were put down constantly. He never appreciated us. We gave him everything and he acted like it was nothing. He's never coming back…'_**

'_Because we weren't enough.' _Sakura interrupted herself sadly. _'We weren't enough to keep him here, to make him happy.'_

'**_How could we be?'_**

'_What do you mean?'_

'**_Think about it,'_** said Inner Sakura in an unusually calm voice. **_'We changed ourselves in every way to please him. We tried to be everything he wanted, because we loved him. We became something false, just for him. We showed him everything he wanted to see, but it wasn't the real us. How could he love something that wasn't real?'_**

'_But…if that wasn't me…then what am I?'_

'**_You're the strong willed kunoichi with the huge heart. You are weak and strong at the same time because you care, because you have emotions, because you thrive on them. He could never understand that. Stop living to his standards. We're above that._**'

'_But my heart still hurts,' _she thought painfully.

'**_I think…I think that it always will. But that doesn't mean we can't rise above it_**.'

'_Maybe_…'

* * *

Sakura walked through her front door. Her apartment was just as she had left it. Empty, but still homey. She had moved out of her parents' house sometime after Sasuke left. It just didn't feel right staying in that house. She loved her parents, but they would never understand her. They had tried to get her to stay. She had been only thirteen after all, still a child. They didn't understand. She didn't want to be a child anymore. She wanted the responsibility of taking care of her own life. She wanted to grow up, and she couldn't do that with her parents always sheltering her. When they weren't away on missions that is, which was most of the time.

Her apartment was the place where she could support herself, take responsibility, and not be a burden to anyone. It was her haven where she could think things through. It was a wonderful feeling to have a place all your own: to hide away in, to open to others, or to do whatever.

She smiled at the small two-bedroom apartment as she entered and closed the door behind her. It wasn't much, but it was enough. Her job at the hospital helped pay for it as well as her ninja salary. It was close to Naruto's apartment actually. The kitchen was roomy enough. She didn't have a dining room, but the living room was big enough to have twenty people over and still not invade personal space. There was that nasty bloodstain in the carpet, though. The last owner had supposedly killed himself here, but that just made the apartment cheaper. Sakura had taken this news in stride and had just thrown a potted plant on the stain, never thinking too much about it really. Who better to live in a house that experienced death than a ninja, right? Their job was life and death.

Sakura shook these thought from her head and walked to her room and its adjoining bathroom. That was one perk to living on her own; she got the master bedroom and the bathroom all to herself.

She undressed and took a nice long shower. Once she was done drying off after the shower, she put on the night things she kept in the bathroom for just this purpose. No hassle going to and from the bathroom and bedroom. She could get things done right here and right now. Too bad that didn't carry over to the rest of her life.

She turned to the mirror. Her pink locks were now past her shoulders. It was getting long again.

'_**I think we need a haircut. It's getting really long.'**_

'_Sasuke liked long hair,' _She thought quietly, as if to herself.

'**_But it's so hard to manage. It's lot of pointless work_**.'

'_Hm,' _Sakura agreed.

She took a kunai from her bundle of clothes on the sink's marble countertop. She gathered all her bubble-gum hair and sliced through right at the nape of the neck.

'**_Ah… There. Now doesn't it feel so much lighter?'_**

Sakura couldn't disagree. It did feel lighter all of a sudden, an almost freeing sensation.

'_Hey, Inner Me.'_

'**_Yeah?'_**

'_Remember what you said…about rising above?_'

'**_Aa.'_**

'_Well, I think_…'

'**_Aa?'_**

'_Yes, maybe.'

* * *

_

_Translations:_

Aa- yes

Chakra- life force energy used to cast spells of a sort (if you need this one explained, you need to read/watch more Naruto)

-chan- an honorific used for females/children to show a close personal relationship

Kami-sama- basically, God

Kunai- dagger

Kunoichi- female ninja

-sama- an honorific used to show great respect, closest to meaning Lord or Lady

-san- an honorific used to show respect, closest to meaning Mr. or Mrs.

* * *

_Author Note:_

Review if you want. If I misspelled something or if my grammar needs work, please tell me. Correctness is important to me. There are a couple OCs; I hope you don't mind. If characters are out of character: in the name of all that is good and sacred in this world please tell me, I don't mean for them to be, if informed of it I will try my best to fix it.

YAAAAYYY! First chapter of my first fic. YES! Hope you liked it!

Oh, yeah; almost forgot.

_Disclaimer:_

I do not own Naruto.

Sayonara, minna-san! (Do I have to translate that too?)


	2. Reality Vs a Wish of the Heart

**Rising: **Chapter 2

Reality V. a Wish of the Heart 

'…_horse, tiger, bear, tiger.'_

"No, that's still not right," said a concentrating Sakura in the middle of one of the many training grounds of Konoha.

'**_Maybe it's in the fifth symbol. Try using the ox instead.'_** Inner Sakura offered.

Sakura retried her jutsu using the modification.

"Argh! It still won't work; damn it all!" she shouted her frustration.

She punched the ground, breathing heavily.

"It should work! There's nothing wrong with the theory behind it, so why, oh _why_, won't it work!"

'**_Now we both know theory and practice are two very different things,'_** Inner Sakura chastised.

"Yeah, I know that already!"

'**_You're talking aloud again,'_** sighed Inner Sakura.

"So?"

'_**People can hear you when you talk aloud.'**_

"No, really? You don't say. That's kind of the point of 'aloud'!"

'_**Hey, don't get snippy with me! You're the one who'll look like an idiot if anyone catches you talking to yourself! Forgive me for being helpful!'**_

Sakura just let out a weary sigh.

'_I'm sorry. You're right. It's just that this gets me so mad!'_

'_**And you think I'm not! Honestly, I'm working just as hard as you are.'**_

'_I know. Maybe we've spent too much time on this today.'_

'**_Cha! For sure! Let's call it a day and go get some food!'_**

Sakura smiled at her inner self's eagerness to quit. She had been working on this particular jutsu for over three hours now. Tsunade had work to do today and had called off their training session. Being the hokage definitely took a lot of time and energy. Sakura couldn't blame her for skipping out on her a couple a times. Shinobi did what was best for the village, and for Sakura, that meant being left to her own devices every now and then.

But Sakura was never one to waste time. She had decided to spend the time trying to perfect a new jutsu she thought up. Shinobi didn't make new jutsu very often. There were already so many it wasn't too hard to find one to fit your needs, so there was really no need for new jutsu. Sakura just needed a creative way to kill time.

'**_You could have just taken up origami,'_** Inner Sakura would joke every now and then.

But Sakura had spent almost her entire life studying jutsu. Back in the academy, jutsu had been accompanied by complicated mathematical calculations to determine weapon angle, advanced war game and battle tactics, even behavioral studies. While she was able to grasp all the fore-mentioned, jutsu study was her favorite forte. She had always been fascinated by the chakra theories everyone else found so intimidating. She loved memorizing the different hand signs, the chakra flow in the body, even how the chakra is diverted to form a jutsu, be it taijutsu, genjutsu, or ninjutsu. Making up her own was always something she had wanted to do.

Now she was finding the action harder than the thought. She was able to understand even the most complicated jutsu derivations. Even the scholarly scrolls of the honored sandaime were close to cake for her. This should be park walking for her. (AN: Tell me if you got that or if I shouldn't try to play with my words.)

'**_Can we go yet?'_** an antsy Inner Sakura asked.

Sakura didn't answer, but did get up from her comfy Indian-style position on the ground. She brushed all the dust and dirt that had somehow gotten on her since she had punched the ground in frustration.

'_I could always ask Kurenai-sensei for help. She's supposed to be a genius in genjutsu.'_ Sakura said off-handedly, knowing her inner self would protest.

'**_No way! We're so close; I can feel it! Don't throw in the towel just yet. You can do this, girl!'_** Inner Sakura encouraged. **_'Besides, you haven't even told Tsunade-shishou what we're working on. Why start telling now?'_**

'_But I think we've reached a dead end here. You've racked our memory for days looking for something to help us figure out what's wrong and I've exhausted my scroll resources. I don't know what else to do.'_

'**_Don't give up! We can triumph! Try asking Tsunade-shishou about what the old creators used to do. Y'know, finding the right symbols and chakra manipulations and everything.'_**

"That's what I'll do," said Sakura with conviction.

'**_Great! Now let's go get some ramen!'_**

That statement required a reply.

'_Who are you? Naruto?'_ laughed Sakura.

'**_Hey! Ramen is good! And don't put me on fox-boy's level!'_** an indignant Inner Sakura said, trying to defend herself.

'_Fox-boy?'_

'**_Yeah, fox-boy! Y'know that cheeky fox grin of his.'_**

'_Don't I ever,'_ sighed Sakura. No one could resist that grin; the darn thing was contagious. She missed him so much.

'**_Food now! Feel bad later!'_** demanded Inner Sakura.

'_Now you really sound like Naruto-kun,'_ laughed Sakura.

'**_Just get to stepping!'_**

'_Yes, ma'am!'_ she laughed again.

With that, Sakura headed out for the market district of town.

* * *

Sakura slurped down her last bit of ramen and plopped her bowl down with a satisfied sigh.

"Thanks, Teuchi-jii-san," Sakura said to the man behind the counter. "The meal was great!"

The proud owner of Ichiraku just gave her his jovial belly laugh.

"Anytime for one of Konoha's finest, not to mention prettiest," he winked.

"Oh, stop it. You're embarrassing me," she rejoined with mock shyness.

The kindly Teuchi just laughed again and Sakura couldn't help but laugh with him.

"Stop by again soon, will ya?" he asked.

"Sure thing, Teuchi-jii-san. Later."

She walked out of the ramen stand after the farewells, heading for places unknown.

'_That girl needs to eat more; she looks so tired'_ the owner thought, because everyone knows that eating ramen gives you lots of big time energy. Just look at Naruto. . _'Poor thing. With all she's been through, I wouldn't be surprised if she's got a bad case of depression. Somebody should say something to the hokage.'_

He didn't have time to ponder over the retreating girl too much as he gave all his attention to a new customer that had just walked in.

* * *

"Hey, Tsunade-shishou!" said Sakura as she plopped herself down in one of the chairs in the hokage's office.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite apprentice. What are you up to?" Tsunade asked, never looking up from her mountain of paperwork.

"Nothing, I'm just kind of bored. Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked off-handedly.

Tsunade saw through the front. Sakura had something on her mind that she wanted help with. Sakura usually came to her for advice. This wasn't surprising considering that her parents were always gone. Tsunade would know; she was the one who gave the final okay on all the missions they were always taking on. Sakura didn't have a lot of role models around in the family, so she had to look elsewhere. Tsunade was proud to be one of the few people the smart girl would confide in and ask advice of.

'_Well, let's see where this goes. If she's beating around the bush to this degree, it must be important_,' Tsunade thought to herself. _'And maybe I can get some work out of her yet! I feel bad for ditching her today.'_

"Sure, Sakura-chan," Tsunade said with an evilly sweet grin. "Fill these out, look over those to make sure everything checks out, and put these in alphabetical order, please," she said pointing to three rather large stacks of paperwork. _'Let's see how she takes getting suckered into so much work,'_ laughed Tsunade to herself.

"Right!" Sakura said with a determined look and got busy.

'_Hmm…no lip. But I was kind of expecting that_,' Tsunade thought.

Sakura always was a hard worker. Of course, she was also smart enough to realize that the advice she was seeking would come at a price. Work was always part of the deal when you asked Tsunade.

"Ne, Tsunade-shishou?"

"Yes, Sakura-chan?"

"Doesn't Shizune-chan usually do this stuff though?" Sakura asked as they both worked like busy little bees.

"Aa, but she's been feeling a little under the weather. I didn't want to give her anymore work than what I couldn't manage on my own. But now that you're here, I won't have to give her any at all!" Tsunade said gleefully at her astounded-looking student.

"Do I at least get paid for doing what your _assistant _should be doing?" Sakura asked incredulously. '**_Hell yeah! Pay what's owed,_**' Inner Sakura demanded.

"Nope. Just think of it as training," she smiled again.

"Slave driver," muttered Sakura. Inner Sakura agreed.

Despite the comment, she was still smiling happily with Tsunade. It was nice to have familiar contact with her precious people. Besides Tsunade, she hadn't gotten the chance very often. Kakashi was off on missions, Naruto was training with Jiraiya, and Sasuke was just gone. So, Sakura smiled with Tsunade.

"I heard that!" said the teacher.

They continued back and forth in friendly idle talk. How's work been going; heard anything interesting lately; learned any cool new jutsu? Tsunade was almost bursting with impatience when Sakura finally asked the question she had come here for.

"Tsunade-shishou, how did the creators of genjutsu come up with the right hand signs?" Sakura asked in a decidedly too-nonchalant tone.

"A history lesson? That's what you wanted to know so badly!" Tsunade yelled.

"Was I _that_ obvious?" asked a slightly crestfallen Sakura. She hadn't wanted the question to stand out and was worried her concealing techniques were slipping.

"Only to me," Tsunade smiled as she waved off Sakura's concern. "Well, to answer your question, they used the simple chakra theories. For stronger jutsu, they used signs like the tiger, dragon and phoenix. They also used the directional signs such as the horse, ox, and rabbit. But that's all Academy knowledge you should know," Tsunade said, rather confused by Sakura's lack of knowledge.

"Tsunade-shishou, I know all _that_. What I want to know is what happened when the genjutsu didn't work."

"What you mean when the genjutsu didn't work?"

'_Ha! The plot thickens! I think I know what this is about,_' thought Tsunade.

"Well, the chakra goes to all the right places and the hand signs seem correct, but nothing happens. Every time it happens, it seems like chakra was spent for the jutsu, but there are never any effects." She seemed to be talking more from experience than theory.

'_I've got you now, Sakura-chan,'_ Tsunade thought with a satisfied smirk.

"Making up your own jutsu in your spare time, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura's chin hit the floor and Tsunade burst out laughing.

"How could you tell!" demanded Sakura.

"Though your leading in to the subject was sly you are far too passionate about this. I followed my instincts to the perfect conclusion; it seems. It was obvious what you were up to." Seeing the nervous look on Sakura's face she added, "only to me though."

Sakura sighed in relief. Although she wasn't thrilled that she had blown the surprise, she was happy that she was finally going to get some help with her genjutsu.

"So how about you explain the whole thing to me," Tsunade said.

"Well, it's a genjutsu. I form the hand signs I came up with, say the magic words, and poof, nothing happens," she explained.

"Hmm," Tsunade gave a mock pondering look. "Yes, I believe I know what to do."

"You do?" asked Sakura hopefully.

"No! I need more information than that, silly! What is the genjutsu's purpose? What are you using it for? What hand signs are you using? How and to where are you manipulating your chakra?"

"Oh, well… this might take a while," Sakura said, finally looking up from her paperwork.

"Don't worry. We've got lots of time," Tsunade supplied as she motioned to the mountains of paperwork left around her office.

"Well, I was looking over genjutsu and I noticed that very few dealt with using pleasure to influence an enemy."

"So you decided to make some up, hai?"

"Aa. I thought it might be a useful distracter. I thought that if the genjutsu played off of the target's subconscious desires and superimposed them to the conditions the target defined as real life, he would be trapped in a world of pleasure he wouldn't want to break out of."

"Brilliant! Just what I'd expect from _my_ apprentice," Tsunade complimented with admiration. "Playing off a person's pleasures is risky business though. The target may want to stay in their perfect world forever, and eventually waste away if the jutsu wasn't removed."

"But there isn't a problem as long as I keep tabs on the time and don't let them go too long. And besides, I think that most people would realize something was wrong when everything started going right for them all at once," Sakura debated. "Life just doesn't start handing you the world on a silver platter."

"Yes, but you have to consider that even if they know it's not real, they may not want to give up that pleasure. Can you imagine it?" asked a suddenly sad Tsunade. "A world where you have everything you want and are always happy. Where your friends aren't dead and the ones you love can never die," she said quietly with tears forming. "I'm not sure even I would have enough will to forsake a perfect, fake world for this cruel, real world we're all stumbling around in now."

A moment of silence was given in sorrowful respect for all that would never be.

"But that's what makes it such a good jutsu," Sakura argued quietly, also near tears. "If the target doesn't want to come back, ripping his perfect world from him might cause enough emotional trauma that the target will have a nervous breakdown. Then he'll be easy to take down."

"This is a very powerful jutsu you're working on, Sakura-chan. It borders being forbidden. I'm not sure I should help you with this one."

Sakura stared hard at the form in front of her. She was disappointed that she wouldn't be allowed to finish her jutsu, but she could see why Tsunade would forbid it. To Tsunade, Sakura silence said it all.

"However, I trust you to not abuse such power," Tsunade said and Sakura instantly brightened. "I can tell you thought about every angle and possible repercussion. You understand the destructive power behind this. If you do complete this jutsu, it will be your responsibility to take over any consequences. Do you accept this responsibility?" Tsunade questioned gravely.

"I accepted that responsibility the moment I started practicing the hand signs," Sakura stated, equally grave.

Tsunade looked into Sakura's eyes to see if she truly understood the magnitude of this decision. This was a matter of life and death, not only for Sakura's future victims, but also for Sakura herself. If she could get this one right, her skill would be coveted and assassins would be sent once her genjutsu became popular, as Tsunade was sure it would be, if not infamous. A genjutsu that could potentially break a person's will to live. Powerful. Frightening.

Tsunade saw the truth in Sakura's eyes. Sakura understood the risks to herself. She understood the emotional destructiveness the genjutsu could have. This was a powerful jutsu that would help her on her way to becoming a powerful shinobi. This was the path she had chosen. Now it was time for Tsunade to make her own choice: to hold Sakura back and always keep her safe or to let her walk the path of shinobi, a path in which death at a young age was almost certain and sacrifice became a part of everyday life.

'_Damn it all! This is one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make. And all over a little genjutsu,'_ Tsunade thought harshly.

"If this is how you want it, dearest Sakura-chan," Tsunade muttered to herself sadly.

"Haruno, Sakura. I will help you," conceded Tsunade.

"Arigatou, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura said gratefully.

"Now, tell me about your process," Tsunade ordered, trying to lighten the mood.

Sakura went through the different hand signs incorporated in her jutsu.

"I've used a lot of different variations, but I generally stick to that layout. What do you think?"

"Hmm. I would change your last sign from tiger to dragon, but other than that, I don't see any room for improvements. It should be working for you already."

Sakura couldn't help but smile at the slight praise Tsunade had given her. She would only change one thing and Sakura had already contemplated hard on using a stronger ending sign like the dragon. But it seems that Tsunade was having the same trouble Sakura was. The theory was right, just the action needed work.

"How does your chakra flow while you're forming them?" Tsunade questioned in her pondering state.

"Well, the chakra moves from various parts of my body into my hands, which I use as the focus. The chakra gathers as the signs proceed and when I get to the end, the gathered chakra extends out to the target like any genjutsu, but nothing happens after that."

"Whom are you practicing it on?"

"Practicing it on?"

"Aa, who are you sparring with when you try it out?"

"Well, no one," Sakura said, as if the answer should have been obvious. "I'm always alone when I practice it."

Suddenly, Tsunade was trying to hold back her snickers. "Always alone…?" she repeated.

"Aa. And?"

Tsunade couldn't hold her laughter anymore and it burst from her in loud guffaws. Sakura was getting angry. She didn't like to be laughed at, especially when she didn't understand what was so funny.

"Just what the hell is so funny!" she demanded of her teacher.

Tsunade reigned in her laughter to form a reply.

"Well, of coarse it didn't work, silly! How could a genjutsu work with no mind to target?" she continued to laugh.

And then it was clear as day. All that time and chakra spent and the answer was that simple the whole time. If the genjutsu was not directed at the caster, it needed another human mind to effect. It was all so simple now. How could Sakura be that stupid? Now she understood what was so funny. She had been so foolish and she couldn't help but join Tsunade as she realized the stupid mistake that made all the difference.

"All this time, it was that simple," said Sakura through her mirth. "So much time wasted. Darn it."

"Now that that's settled, what do you say we get back to work?" prompted Tsunade.

"Right!"

They spent most of the rest of the time working and gossiping about their many friends, the sort of talk and personal opinions that were shared only between the two of them. It was about five o'clock when Sakura decided to call it a day. She had spent quite a bit of chakra working out her jutsu and she was tired. She also wanted to try out her jutsu again, now that it would work.

"Okay, Tsunade-shishou. I need some rest. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Aa. Bright and early at the fourth training ground. Rest up, because I'm gonna beat your ass into the ground to make up for today's lost training," Tsunade smirked as she looked up to say goodbye.

"Alright then!" It was about time she started to get some worthwhile training out of the godaime again.

Sakura finished straightening the paperwork she had completed and headed for the door. Before she could exit, Tsunade stopped her.

"Oh, and Sakura-chan…"

"Hm?"

"Let me know how the jutsu turns out," Tsunade smiled at the student she knew so well.

"Will do, Tsunade-shishou!"

Sakura left for the training grounds.

* * *

'_Well, I can't bring myself to try this on any of my friends, not after that talk with Tsunade,_' Sakura thought. She had reached Training Ground Three, a secluded space deep in the forest.

'**_For sure! We don't want anyone going insane on us. Hey, we could always wait for Gaara! He's already insane,_**' Inner Sakura laughed.

'_Be nice_,' scolded Sakura. '_Gaara's not that bad_.'

'**_Not that bad! Last time we saw him, he tried to kill us!_**'

'_Aa, but he's different now. Naruto-kun knocked some sense into him. Besides, lots of people have tried to kill me and they weren't so bad._'

'**_Like who?_**'

'_Zabuza and Haku weren't so bad._'

'**_You mean psycho-sword and gay-boy?_**'

'_What is it with you and name-calling?_'

'**_Hey, I'm not the only one. I'm part of you; remember?_**'

'_Don't remind me._'

'**_Hey!_**'

'_It wasn't their fault, you know._'

'**_Aa, aa. 'The life of a shinobi makes and breaks.' I know._**'

'_Then start acting like it!_' lectured Sakura.

' **_Whatever. Can we just get on with the jutsu, please?_**'

'_You say that as if I started this argument. You're just mad because you know I'm right._'

'**_As if! I'm you! We're either both right or both wrong!'_**

'_Not so! We've disagreed on lots of things before.'_

'_**But we always managed to come to an agreement. That's one of the reasons I'm here: to help you sort out your conflicting feelings and emotions.'**_

'_Alright, I don't want to argue with you anymore,'_ Sakura finally conceded. _'Let's just get this over with. Now, who do I cast it on?'_

'**_Well, if you're not casting it on our friends and there aren't any enemy nin about, I think you'll have to cast it on yourself.'_**

'_Myself? Wouldn't that be dangerous though?'_

'**_Nah.You're excellent at countering genjutsu. Beside we used signs that were strong specifically because we thought it wouldn't have a very good effect without them. Plus, you have the added bonus of knowing it's a genjutsu. If you fell that you need out, just yell out the canceling jutsu.'_**

'_I guess. It seems awfully risky, though.'_

'**_So what? Are you a kunoichi or aren't you? This will help you to become stronger. Have some backbone! Take the risk!'_**

'_Alright, you've convinced me,'_ Sakura laughed at her inner self's enthusiasm. _'All I have to do is change the directional sign and we're good.'_

Sakura made the necessary adjustments to the jutsu and was ready to perform the jutsu. She hesitated for a moment.

'**_We can do this; I know we can! Our will is strong! Let's do this!'_** encouraged Inner Sakura.

"Alright…here goes everything," Sakura said as she cast the jutsu upon herself.

* * *

Tsunade stretched at her desk. It had been a long day of paper pushing and Tsunade decided it was time for it to end. There was only a small pile of paperwork left. Not bad for a day's work. Now she could spend a relaxing day with Sakura tomorrow, training. She would be glad to get out of her office.

'_Hmm. Only 8:30. It's still early. I think I'll hit the bars then, maybe go gambling a little?'_ she wondered as she straightened her office for the last time that day.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Tsunade went to open it and was shocked by what she found on the other side.

There stood her Sakura-chan, her vacant, dull green eyes widely staring at the floor. Tsunade had seen this look before. It was the same as some of the nin that came into the hospital after a battle with heavy losses. Trauma induced shock.

"Kami-sama, Sakura-chan! What happened?"

Tsunade shook her to try to get a response out of the girl other than the empty stare she continued to hold.

"Sakura-chan, please! Tell me what happened!" Tsunade frantically shouted.

Sakura muttered something that Tsunade couldn't quite hear.

"What?" she asked, leaning in.

"Inside the jutsu," Sakura said softly. "It was beautiful. Everyone was happy. Naruto was back. Kakashi wasn't on long missions anymore. Gaara was loved and he smiled. Everyone was happy. And Sasuke…"

She paused for a moment, still staring lifelessly at the floor.

"Sasuke came back. He… he said…"

Tsunade waited with baited breath.

"He said he loved me," she said as she finally raised her eyes to look directly into Tsunade's, silently asking if Tsunade understood what that meant.

Tsunade did understand what that would mean to Sakura and she was worried about what would come next.

Sakura continued as tears started to fall from her hollow eyes, saline proof that she was still there.

"That's when I cut it off. It was so hard. Because…here…no one is happy. Gaara's hated. Naruto's gone. Kakashi's gone. And Sasuke's never coming back. And… and…"

Tsunade was relieved tears were pouring out of Sakura's shining eyes. It was pain and sadness and suffering that they were shining with, but that was something at least. Sakura was not lost.

"And it hurts so much, Tsunade."

She flung herself at the strong blonde woman before her and cried. Tsunade held her as if she was afraid that Sakura would disappear.

"It hurts so much," Sakura mumbled into Tsunade's shoulder. "Things will never be that way. They'll always be hurt and they'll always be in pain and I can't help them. I can't save a single one of them."

Tsunade rocked the girl she had come to love like her own daughter.

"That's not true Sakura," she chastised. "Yes they've gone through hell and back, but they are still here. And so are you. This life is not over. You can still help them, as long as you're strong enough to put up with the grief of this world."

"But I'm not strong!" she moaned.

"Yes, you are! How did you get out of that genjutsu?"

"I performed the cancellation spell," she said matter-of-factly through the tears.

"When?"

"When I knew if I stayed any longer, I would never leave."

"Why?"

"Because I knew it wasn't real. Because there were real people here that wouldn't have wanted me to die trapped in a genjutsu."

"So you choose the pain of this world over the bliss of death?"

"Yes," she sniffed. She looked and sounded as if she slightly regretted her choice. Death might have felt better than this scarring ache she felt deep within her chest.

"Then how then can you call yourself weak?"

"What?" Sakura questioned. Tsunade could see that her tears were dissipating as she lifted her head in confusion.

"Dearest Sakura-chan," smiled Tsunade. "The strongest person in the world is the one that suffers through this world, but still finds the will-power to keep on living."

"So, I'm not weak?" she asked, afraid to be hopeful that Tsunade would not call her weak.

"Not at all."

Sakura was speechless for a few seconds. Then, she smiled radiantly at Tsunade and gave her a big hug.

"Thank you, Tsunade-shishou."

"You're welcome, Sakura-chan. Just don't ever pull something like that again," said Tsunade, hugging back just as hard.

"I'll try," Sakura conceded. This genjutsu had potential. It seemed as if her thoughts prior to executing the jutsu shaped which fantasy the victim experienced. With the right concentration, this jutsu could reveal a lot about one's subconscious mind. She may just have to experiment with it a little even though she shuddered at the thought of what might happen the next time she tried it.

But if Tsunade was right about her being strong, which Sakura still wasn't sure she was right, Sakura was sure that she could stand that awful world where dreams come true. She would go home and sleep this off and tomorrow would be the day. Tomorrow would be the day she found out if she was really as strong as Tsunade said she was.

But first, she had to get Tsunade to let up on this bear hug she was trapped in.

"It's okay, Tsunade-shishou," she soothed. "I'm okay now."

"I thought I lost you, you stupid girl," Tsunade chastised. _'Back to her usual gruff self now that the crisis is over,'_ thought Sakura.

"I'm sorry I scared you," she replied ruefully.

"You should be! Next time you do it, I'm beating you to a pulp!"

The bear hug became twice as fierce. Sakura was having trouble breathing.

"Understand?"

"Hai, Tsunade-shishou," wheezed Sakura.

"Good girl," Tsunade said simply as she released her prisoner. "Now let's get some sleep. I'll walk you home."

"Thanks Tsunade-shishou, but you don't have to."

"No, I want to. With the state you're in, I'd be surprised if you didn't just keel over in a ditch somewhere on your way home."

"Fine," Sakura happily conceded. She was kind of tired…

* * *

**Notes **

_On jutsu creation_: I know that Naruto made up his own jutsu (Sexy no Jutsu and Harem no Jutsu), but Sakura's is a little more complicated than simple transformation.

_On hand sign categories:_ I'm assuming that the components of a jutsu each have a certain purpose. I t also seems like the more advanced jutsu have more hand signs than others. I believe they would work similar to kanji. Place the right two together and you'll get a different command than if the two where separate. I'm also just guessing at the types of signs. It's my fic; so, I guess I get to take some liberties.

_On Ichiraku:_ I did know the owner's name; so, Sakura just calls him Jii-san. Please tell me if you know what it is.

_On Sakura's state:_ 1) Just forming and practicing a jutsu requires chakra expenditure. Sakura's tired state is the result of just such expenditure. 2) When Sakura shows up at Tsunade's the second time, she had already performed the genjutsu on herself. Being faced with everything she wanted that never would be left her in a state of shock.

_On psycho-sword and gay-boy:_ Zabuza and Haku are awesome! I didn't want them to die. It made me sad. I'm merely suggesting that Inner Sakura might have a thing for name-calling. She is the result of Sakura's repressed nature in order to fit in with society. In other words, Inner Sakura says all the negative things about people that Sakura would never say aloud. That's why Sakura is so polite to people that don't know her. She's just trying to be polite to gain acceptance. Who can blame her when the alternative, in her mind at least, is loneliness. At least, that's my view on Sakura's split personality.

_On times of day:_ Sakura started early in the morning with her training. She finished about midday and went to Ichiraku. Then, she went to Tsunade's office to get help. I think you can figure out the rest. I feel like I'm insulting your intelligence just by putting this here. However, I have a tendency to be misunderstood and just plain confusing to others. This is to ensure that doesn't happen again. Better safe than sorry.

_On previous Translation notes:_ I will no longer include translations in my fic. If you really want to know what a word or phrase means, I suggest you find a nice translating service. Maybe it will help broaden a few horizons. In this way, I hope to help in the noble cause of eradicating ignorance in the world. I feel like a teacher all of the sudden. Go me!

**Disclaimer**

I, Asanisan, of sound mind and ability do so renounce any and all claims to the characters and world that is the property of Kishimoto-sensei and extend this renouncement to the entirety of my fanfiction entry.

Be gone, foul lawyers! I'll never be so base as to wave mutton in front of the wolf. I've disclaimed and you can't sue. Nana-nana-boo-boo.

Until next time, minna-san. Sayonara!


	3. The Mark of Strength

**Rising:** Chapter 3

The Mark of Strength

Sakura woke to the sound of birds chirping their greeting to the sun. The rays of that cursed ball in the sky shone down right in Sakura's face.

'_Stupid sun. Stupid birds,'_ thought Sakura. _'I guess I'll just have to rise with the sun.'_

Sakura got up. She felt sore from yesterday. She knew she didn't do much, but it still felt like she was hit by Tsunade's powerful fists. Repeatedly.

She yawned widely and walked into her kitchen.

"Good morning, Sakura!"

She screamed bloody murder.

"Ah, Sakura-chan! Not so loud!" the intruder begged.

"What the hell are you doing in my apartment, Genma-hentai?" she screeched.

"Hokage-sama sent me," he said as he rubbed his poor, abused ears. "She said something about suicide and guard duty? I forget the rest. I wasn't really paying attention. She woke me up, y'know," he chastised.

"Oh," she said. '_Was I really that bad? Well, at least I know she cares. But did Tsunade-shishou have to send him?'_

"And what the hell kind of jutsu did you set on this place? I just about had heart attack," he scolded, senbon waving around madly in his anger.

Sakura knew that particular genjutsu well, being the creator and all. It was one of her better creations. It created an illusion of a sliced and diced Sakura all over the living room floor should any trespassers stop in to say, "Hello. How's the weather? I'm here to kill you…"

"Oh, sorry about that," she grinned apologetically. "It's my own special alarm system." Very proud of her creation she continued, "You know how ninja don't really have a use for locks, how any enemy nin worth his salt could just bust in, right?"

"Right…"

"Well, this creates a problem for household security. So, I came up with some jutsu that work as an alarm system of sorts. Come see," she said proudly as she motioned him over to the window that was still open from his entrance into her abode.

She peeled up the bottom pane of the window frame to show him the jutsu inscribed in the wood underneath.

"It's a special type of genjutsu that activates whenever a foreign chakra enters the room. Since you're not in the system, it activated when you barged in," she said with a proud smile.

Genma whistled at the impressive jutsu. "A written jutsu infused with your own chakra to keep others out of your home. Impressive. I didn't know genin had the skills to work with chakra infusion into a written jutsu. At least, not to where the jutsu has the right effects. Just what has Tsunade been teaching you? Why aren't you chunin yet?"

"Well, I haven't taken the test yet," she said matter-of-factly. "It's really only my chakra control that's at chunin level right now. But how did you get out of the genjutsu when you're not in the system?"

"Well, luckily Kurenai had the shift before I did. She wants to know your technique by the way. You even fooled her. If she wasn't so genjutsu paranoid and constantly using the dismissal jutsu whenever something crazy happens, she probably would have reported you dead by now. And what do you mean by 'not in the system'?"

"Well, in order for the system to remain inactive, the jutsu has to recognize your chakra. I've infused the chakra of everyone who is allowed in my apartment with a small amount of my own and put it into the jutsu. In that way, the jutsu recognizes the person and doesn't activate."

"So, Sakura," Genma said in a seductive voice, leaning in close enough for her to feel the tantalizing, in his mind at least, warmth of his body. "Will you put me in your system?" he asked suggestively as he twiddled his senbon at her.

"Hentai!" she yelled as she slapped him.

"Ow. It's just a bit of fun, Sakura. No need to get so violent," he whined. Sakura just snorted at him.

"So, why that particular genjutsu? You scared me half to death. I thought I was going to have to tell Kakashi his favorite student was assassinated," he said with a shiver at the thought of the pain that little message would bring to the bearer of the bad news.

"I'm not his favorite," she said off-handedly. "And that jutsu is absolutely perfect for the intruder it was meant for."

"How so?"

"Think about it," she said and started to gesture when she talked. "In rushes some big, bad assassin nin out for Haruno, Sakura's throat. The jutsu activates and Assassin Nin-san sees the bloody, mutilated corpse of his target staining the nice beige carpet with gore. Oh, no! Someone has gotten to this target before he could. What's Assassin Nin-san to do except jump right back out the window and take credit for the assassination anyway."

Genma chewed on his senbon thoughtfully. "Not bad, Sakura-chan. Not bad at all. Think you could do my apartment too? I think I'd sleep better at night."

"I could, but it'll cost ya," she smiled.

"What? No co-worker discount?" he pouted.

"Not a yen," she said happily. Genma sighed, looking deflated.

"But I will throw in the special attuning feature for free," Sakura solicited.

"Attuning feature?"

"Now, for a limited time, you can have the magnificent alarm jutsu especially attuned to your chakra signature to alert you personally whenever a breach has been detected. Standard disclaimers apply, of course. Haruno Co. is not responsible for false alarms involving insects, arachnids, squirrels or any other mammals and is not subject to mental anguish lawsuits or any other suit involving aforementioned incidents."

"Wait, so you're saying you can tell whenever someone breaks in?" he asked incredulously.

"If I'm within range."

"Damn, you should be a chunin."

Sakura smiled shyly.

"What other jutsu have you made?"

"Um…"

She wasn't sure she was allowed to tell him about the most recent one, but she supposed she could tell him about some of the others.

"Well, a couple of weeks ago, I perfected a barrier jutsu I came up with after studying the Hyuuga's gentle fist style. The week before that, I made jutsu to make clouds. Shikamaru-kun got a kick out of that one. A couple days before that, I made one to help flowers grow. Yamanaka-san was ecstatic when I showed him that one. And the week before that…"

"Alright. I get it. I get it. Does Tsunade know about all these jutsu?"

"Well, no," she said shyly. "I just told her about one yesterday. Besides her, I haven't told anyone. I wanted to keep it secret until I had something really great to show. Now that the cat's out of the bag, I guess it doesn't really matter who knows."

"You showed other people these jutsu, but they don't know they're yours?"

"I just told them it was a new jutsu I picked up from Kakashi- senpai. It pays to have the master of a thousand jutsu as your teacher sometimes."

"Only 'sometimes'?" Genma asked with a mischievous grin.

"Sadly, yes. Kakashi-senpai is nothing but a perpetually late, dirty old man with an extremely wearisome personality," she said in mock despair.

"I'll be sure to tell him you said so," Genma smiled evilly.

"What? No, don't do that! I was only joking," she pleaded. Genma just laughed at her reaction.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. Your secret's safe with me," he said as he put on the pose of some supposedly great hero.

"Gee, thanks," she said sarcastically. "Well, it's not like he'd care about my opinion anyway."

"Yeah, that's probably true," he agreed. Sakura glared at his blunt response. He just shrugged. They both knew he spoke the truth.

Sakura looked back to her uprooted window pane and the exposed jutsu. It reminded her that she had an experiment she had to try today. She looked out the window at the beautiful morning sky, bright with the sun. The clouds were still slightly cream from the sunrise. It promised to be a beautiful day.

She remembered the company standing beside her. She looked up into his face with a grin. "Since you're here, would you like some breakfast?"

"You can cook?"

"Of course I can cook!" she glared. "I live alone. How do you think I eat?"

"Take out?"

Sakura just huffed and went to get started on some waffles, a nice foreign dish her mother used to cook for her. "I don't mean to brag, but I can make some pretty mean waffles."

"Waffles, huh?" He just might have to stay.

He went into her kitchen and sat down at the small dining table to watch her cook. She was busy taking out eggs and butter milk and whatnot. She really could cook, he decided.

He took a look around her apartment. It was furnished with the basics, a genin's salary being very modest. The only furniture in the kitchen was the dining table and chairs. From here he could see her living room, also containing the bare necessities. There was an old, beat up leather couch, probably obtained at someone's garage sale or a donation from a family member. Despite its rumpledness, it looked like it would be really comfortable to sit on. The newly varnished coffee table (probably Sakura-chan's work) was just the perfect height for propping your feet up. A stereo set on a waist high entertainment center ran along the only solid wall in the room. The wall next to that one was filled with three windows, the window sills covered with various potted plants and herbs, probably with medicinal attributes considering Sakura-chan's line of work (was that aloe vera he spied?). The other wall held the door to the main hallway as well as a couple of landscape paintings. There was not a fourth wall, just a waist high bar littered with more potted plant and some pretty crystal figurines that separated the kitchen from the living room. It was very homey. Genma liked her apartment. Especially the color schemes. The living room had a patched carpet. How that happened, he would never know, but the alternating beige and turquoise squares had a very relaxing effect, as did the off-white walls with ocean scene border wallpaper where the ceiling met the wall. The kitchen was tiled in a cool, dark grey. The marble on the counter top was a white and grey speckled black. The cabinets overhead were a dark mahogany, with ivy and gold and silver flowers painted on them. Her refrigerator would have thrown off the whole feel of the room if it was any newer, though. Now it was a deep, stained emerald, but in its youth it would have been a bright lime-green, a little too cheery for such a calm atmosphere. Yet, that little, cheery, bubblegum-pink kunoichi somehow fit right in. Genma smiled peacefully as he watched his friend bustle around, completely within her element. That little prodigy turned traitor was a moron. Konoha's beautiful cherry blossom was a catch and a half.

Sakura filled up the hot iron with her batter and turned to Genma as she waited for the waffles to cook. He was smiling at her with the most peaceful smile that she had to happily smile back.

"So what's new with you, Genma?"

"Nothing much, except babysitting a silly genin. What happened that Tsunade-sama would be worried about you committing suicide?" he asked, confused and a little concerned.

"Oh, that?" she quietly responded and broke eye contact. "I was trying out a new jutsu and the experiment went a little awry." Her eyes were sad as she remembered the experience. But it was too early in the morning to be so depressed.

"Everything's alright, though. I was just spooked a little, I guess. It wasn't really so bad," she lied. "Do you think Tsunade-shishou would want to know about my other jutsu? They're just silly pastimes to me, but she might know how to use them for something productive."

Genma noticed the change in topic, but he let it slid. If she didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't the one who should be prying. That was more of a parent's or sensei's job. He was just a friend that would wait patiently for her to open up to him. "I think she would want to know about anything you create. We don't often have nin who can make up their own jutsu like you do. It could be a great asset to the village if she could commission you and channel that talent into creating vital jutsu."

"Hm. I never really thought about it like that. Tsunade-shishou didn't say anything about needing new jutsu. I think I will ask her about it."

Genma chuckled at her thoughtful pose. "That's our little medic-nin. Always ready to help."

He looked behind her at the waffle iron. "Those waffles done yet?"

"Oh! I almost forgot about them," she cried as she turned to take the waffles out. They were a little browner than they should be, but still edible. She put them on a plate and it as well as some syrup to Genma. "Dig in," she said as she went to make some more for herself.

Genma ate while Sakura cooked. The waffles were excellent, a bite of fluffy heaven in his mouth. They didn't even need syrup, although that was no reason to go without.

"Sakura, these are delicious," he said in between mouthfuls.

"Thanks. They're a specialty of mine really," she smiled and took out another batch. "Would you like some more?"

"Yes!" he said, pushing his empty plate in front of her. "Please!"

She looked at his plate in shock and set the newest batch onto his plate. "How many more do you want?"

"Hm. Maybe two more after this," he asked. Sakura's jaw dropped.

"That's ten waffles!"

"They're good waffles," he pouted. "I don't get breakfasts this good very often. If you were older, I'd marry you just to have these every morning," he joked.

"Um, I think I'd have to pass," she said with a scandalized look. "They aren't _that_ good," she added.

Genma just kept wolfing down his waffles like some enemy nin would burst through the door at any moment and try to steal away his wonderful breakfast. Genma wouldn't blame the enemy nin at all.

Sakura took out the last batch, got herself a plate, and flopped down across from Genma to eat her own breakfast. She also handed Genma his other two waffles.

"You're only eating two?"

"I have these almost every other day. You get tired of them after a while."

"Sakura-chan, you are so spoiled," he concluded.

She laughed. "I guess so, Genma-senpai."

He smiled broadly at the honorific. '_Score one for Genma!' _he thought.

"Remember when we first met, Sakura-chan?"

"How could I forget?" she asked disdainfully.

"Aw, Sakura-chan. It was just a little rub."

"You had a fist-sized hole through your stomach and all you could think about was feeling me up, you hentai!"

"You still slapped me, though. Your own patient, Sakura-chan! It's not my fault you were just the cutest little nurse I ever did see."

"I was thirteen, baka no hentai!"

"And I was delirious from blood loss," he defended nonchalantly. "Besides, I apologized, didn't I?"

"So many flowers," she remembered. "All the girls at the hospital thought I had an extremely romantic boyfriend. It was embarrassing when they found out it was you!"

He smiled as he envisioned her mortified expression. "I thought it would take me forever to gain your respect."

"Why would you care about what I thought of you anyway?"

"Oh, Sakura-chan. It's my policy to be on good terms with all the pretty girls of Konoha, especially one who could potentially hold my life in her hands some point down the line."

"Stop it," she blushed. Genma smiled at her and finished his waffles.

"So what do you have planned for today?" he asked one of his favorite people.

"Training," she said, not looking up from her meal.

"You gonna tell Tsunade-sama I did a good job protecting her little apprentice?"

"Nope. I'm gonna tell her you scared the living daylights out of me and then mooched off my good hospitality for a decent breakfast."

"Aw, Sa-chan…" he whined.

"Don't call me that. You know I hate that nickname."

"But, Sa-chan…"

Sakura whacked him in the head.

"You're so mean, Sakura-chan," he pouted as he nursed the new lump on his skull.

Sakura just giggled. "You remind me of Naruto sometimes," she said sadly.

He gasped at her forlorn tone and looked up. Her eyes looked so sad.

"Hey, Sakura. He'll be back, you know. No need to be sad."

"I know," she smiled. "He promised me, after all. I trust him to come back. I just miss him a bit."

"Ah… yeah," he smiled. Sakura was stronger than most people gave her credit for. '_Sakura-chan, you don't have to hide your sadness from me.' _

"Hey, I need to get going soon, Genma-senpai. Are you going to stay here or what?"

"Your guest room taken?"

"Nope."

"I'll get some sleep in there then. That alright?"

"Yep. That's what it's for," she said as she cleared the table. Everyone who knew Sakura well enough knew that her guest room was always open to anyone needing some rest. "Just make the bed when you leave.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan," he yawned. He headed out the kitchen. Sakura finished up in the kitchen, groomed herself for the day, and then left to meet Tsunade.

* * *

"That punch was weak, Sakura! Hit harder!"

Sakura threw a punch at Tsunade, which she in turn avoided. The ground erupted with fissures. Sakura was starting to wear down. Tsunade mercilessly threw a punch at her student.

"I don't want to see you flinch! Once more!"

Sakura kicked at Tsunade's ribs, but was easily evaded. Tsunade kicked Sakura in turn, breaking three ribs as well as fracturing her collar bone when she was thrown into a nearby tree from the force of Tsunade's chakra laden kick. She sank to the ground with labored breath.

"Get up, Sakura! We're not finished."

Sakura put a hand to her ribs and collar bone, instantly healing them. She regained her footing and resumed an offensive stance. She then launched herself at her sensei, aiming a punch for her breast bone. She feinted and made a sweeping kick for Tsunade's knee. Tsunade jumped to evade and landed a punch on Sakura's back that sent her face first into the unforgiving ground. She had a concussion. Through the fuzzy haze, Sakura managed to roll to avoid another of Tsunade's punches. She quickly healed her head and twice broken rib, leaving the nosebleed to clot on its own. No need to waste chakra. She got up to send a punch kick combo at her teacher. This time, she connected with Tsunade's arm and leg, her teacher having only enough time to block. She felt bone break and muscles bruise. Without healing herself, Tsunade landed a devastating kick to Sakura's side. Her radius and ulna were shattered in three different places and two ribs were broken, one scratching her lung the other grotesquely protruding through her skin. Sakura brought her hand up to heal the breaks and scratch quickly before raising her head to watch Tsunade do the same. She got up without healing the wound from the rib to get another good attack in while Tsunade was off guard.

"Stop!" Tsunade yelled, raising the hand of authority. Sakura stopped in her tracks.

"I think that's enough for today," Tsunade said with a sigh. "You've gotten a lot better, Sakura-chan," she praised, "but you're almost out of chakra."

"Yeah, I am," she agreed, wiping the blood off her face and sitting down to tend to her bleeding side now that she wouldn't need the extra chakra to fight.

"Be careful of blood loss next time, Sakura-chan," Tsunade said, taking a seat next to her student and slurping down some water from her canteen. "I know I taught you not to waste precious chakra on flesh wounds, but fainting from blood loss will get you killed."

"Yes, Tsunade-shishou."

Tsunade let out a chuckle at the proud look on Sakura's face.

"What's that look for, girl?" she laughed. "Don't think that you landing one on me is any cause for celebration. I still beat your ass hard."

"I know, but I still got you a good one. I've improved, right?"

"That you did," she agreed. "There's a lot left to teach you still though, so don't go getting a big head or I'll have to beat it down for you."

"Hai, Tsunade-shishou," she laughed.

"I'm moving your hospital days up to four a week, starting the day after tomorrow. You now have enough chakra to be able to handle it. How's your head, by the way? I was sure you had a concussion."

"I did, but I healed it."

"Let me have a look," Tsunade instructed. Sakura leaned her head over for her mentor to see.

"Good job. Not many medic-nin could heal with such an injury. I have two new medic-jutsu scrolls for you to study," Tsunade said as she moved Sakura's head back and forth during the examination. "Stop by my office and Shizune-chan will have them for you."

"Cool!"

"Don't get too excited," she laughed. "I want you to learn them within the next week. Although, that probably won't be a problem for you."

Sakura fell back in exhaustion when Tsunade let her head go. Training ground seventeen was slightly more bare than most of the others. There weren't a lot of trees around, making it the perfect spot to practice techniques that tore the ground apart. As such, the late afternoon sun bore down on Sakura's prone form. It was warm for autumn, but the sun made it hot. Sakura didn't much mind. The heat felt relaxing on her sore muscles. She and Tsunade had been training almost the whole day. Sakura's chakra was immense, but after so many healings and chakra laced taijutsu, she was almost out. Tsunade-shishou didn't seem to be fazed a bit though. Sakura really was lucky to have such an amazing sensei, even if said sensei demanded two hundred percent one hundred percent of the time. Tsunade's training methods had made her into a formidable opponent. She wouldn't have to stand behind anyone anymore and that thought filled her with joy. She couldn't thank her sensei enough.

"Sakura-chan," Tsunade called to her wandering mind.

"Yes?" Sakura asked, sitting up beside her sensei.

"I wanted to talk to you about your jutsu. I'm labeling it as a kinjutsu. As such, you are entitled to look at the kin scroll and the jutsu within. That is a right given to all creators of a kinjutsu. You will also write yours on that scroll when the time comes. You are not permitted to teach anyone how to use it and I'm assigning you special classes with Ibiki-san so that you may learn to resist telling the secret of your jutsu under torture. Normally, those classes are reserved for jonin and ANBU, but I think this qualifies as an exception."

"Okay. Will there be any torturing involved?" she asked fearfully.

"Probably," Tsunade said sympathetically.

"Oh…"

"You said you were willing to face the consequences of your actions," she reminded.

"I know. And I stand by that decision," she said, looking up into Tsunade's eyes with a fearful determination.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan. You'll do fine."

Sakura smiled at her sensei's encouragement.

"Hey, Tsunade-shishou…"

"Un?"

"I was talking with Genma-senpai about jutsu I've created, not about the kinjutsu or anything, just the small ones, and he said that I should ask you if there were any jutsu I could be commissioned to make."

"You've made other jutsu besides the last one?"

"Yeah," she said guiltily, avoiding eye contact. Not telling Tsunade-shishou had been a mistake.

"How many?"

"Quite a few. They're just playful jutsu really. But I was wondering if there aren't any jutsu you need for a specific reason that I could make, jutsu that would help the village."

"Hm. I'll think about it. Who else have you told about these jutsu which you didn't want your poor Tsunade-shishou to know about?" she asked with a slightly hurt tone.

"Oh! No one but Genma-senpai this morning, Tsunade-shishou. Honest. I just didn't think they were important enough to mention. Most of them are kind of silly. I have one to make clouds for Kyuubi's sake!"

"Ground clouds or in-the-sky clouds?"

"Well, both I suppose, but how does that ma…oh! Smoke screen!"

"No jutsu is ever silly," Tsunade said with a devious look. "It's all in finding how to use that certain jutsu to your advantage. I hear from Kurenai-san that you have a particularly good alarm system. Care to explain?"

"Just another jutsu I made up," she said, rubbing the ridge of her nose in pleasant embarrassment. "It's a genjutsu."

And Sakura proceeded to tell Tsunade all about her creation, even the special attuning feature. Tsunade was very impressed and already thinking of ways to put such a thing to good use.

"Do you think you could show Kurenai-san how to do this, as well as some of my other genjutsu specialists? We could put this on quite a few strategic places for a better peace of mind. If we could change the image projected, we could even keep scrolls safe. After all, who would want to steal a supposed pile of ash?"

Sakura smiled, knowing that she had done well.

"But, Sakura, I want you to keep low for a while on the jutsu creations. If the other villages found out about you, they might want to kidnap you and exploit this talent. This stays between you, me, and however I feel needs to know. Got it?"

"Got it, Tsunade-shishou." With the added hospitals hours, Sakura wouldn't need to kill time by making up her own jutsu.

Today was promising to be a good day. Sakura squinted up at the sun. _'There's still one thing left to do today. I have to know the secret of my strength.'

* * *

_

Sakura stood in front of the memorial stone, the black, polished stone gleaming in the waning light. For a moment it seemed almost as if the stone absorbed the light and returned a piercing glow from within itself. Her predecessors, solid willed and courageous, were honored here. This is the memory of those who had come before her.

This is the standard of what is expected of her. This is the place were the way of the strong, giving their all to fighting for what they hold dear, is most clear. And hopefully if all goes well, this will be the place were she found the way to be strong and walk ahead.

'_Okay, if I focus on wanting to be strong, then the genjutsu should bring my desire to life and show how I can best become strong.'_

'_**Let's focus on being even stronger than Kakashi!'**_

'_Do you think we could ever be that strong?'_

'_**You'll never know without trying.'**_

'_What if it doesn't work? Instinct only goes so far.'_

'**_We know how to get stronger. It's all right here in your head. I can feel it,' _**Inner Sakura assured.

'_If you can feel my subconscious mind, then why don't you pull the information out?'_

'**_I can't see what's in it! I know what you know.'_**

'_Alright, let's just go.'_

'_**Shannaro!'**_

Sakura performed her latest genjutsu on herself, focusing on the strong kunoichi she wanted to become.

* * *

Sakura jerked from her meditative position in front on the onyx stone, breathing raggedly. The night was upon her. She looked around her, bewildered. Only a few hours had passed in reality, but in her mind, consumed in her own jutsu, years had gone by. She had seen it all. Her mind had shown each and every step in detail on the path to becoming Konoha's greatest kunoichi.

Sakura looked at the night around her. There were no lights anymore. It was high time to make some of her own. She looked purposefully at the black outline of the memorial stone.

'**_Let us start with the first step.' _**Sakura agreed.

Sakura knelt before the stone and took out a kunai. Giving a determined look to the stone, she plunged the kunai deep within her breast, past rib and lung to scratch at her heart. She deftly said a ninjutsu, focusing the chakra through her into the kunai and imbedding in the scar she was making on her heart.

The pain was excruciating. Her hands shook and her lung was close to collapsing. Blood ran in crimson rivulets from the wound. But Sakura persisted with everything she was or ever would be. She would not fail in this. The white hot pain made it hard to focus and finish the task, but she persevered. Sakura drug the sharp edge through skin, bone, lung, and tissue, pulling it out and pushing it back in where necessary. Sakura slowly and painfully carved the kanji for strength into her heart.

She wanted to collapse right then and there, but her life depended on completing this last part. She wavered in and out of consciousness. Her body on automatic, she pulled the kunai out as she finished the last word of the ninjutsu. She was covered in her own blood. She slowly healed her now collapsed lung, vision spotty as her right lung tried to get enough air to compensate. She had to flush the blood out of her lungs. Then she healed the bone and tissue. Without Tsunade's training, she wouldn't have had the tolerance or strength to complete this ritual. Sakura would thank her for it tomorrow. The wound was healed except for the scars left on the wall of her heart and a deep red kanji that read "strength" positioned directly on the skin over the scars. Her task complete, Sakura passed out.


	4. Teachers

**Rising: **Chapter 4

Teachers

Kakashi woke early, as he did every day. The sun was just rising. He could see the glow that served as a sign of the strong rays that were to come. Today was proving to be a nice weather day. He got up out of bed and took a quick shower. It was a little on the cold side, as always, but bearable. His hair hung in his face, but the wind from his open window soon dried it in a passable sweep that stayed on the top of his head. He made himself breakfast, rice porridge that somehow was cold before he even finished. The sun was winking at him through the trees now. Now to visit Obito and the others. He strapped on his hitai-ate and pulled his mask up. Out the window and down the street.

'_Maybe Sakura-chan is right. I do use windows a little too much,' _he chuckled to himself. His apartment was right on the edge of the market district. It was, more importantly, close to shinobi HQ. Not many were wandering the streets at this early hour and the streets were almost eerie for the lack of the usual bustle. Kakashi was used to this by now, so he hardly noticed the empty atmosphere. There would be many people here later anyway. He took a left at the red bridge, where his team used to meet. The memorial stone was further ahead.

His thoughts wandered to the team as he walked. It seemed most of his teammates were MIA at the moment. He wondered what Obito would have thought of that. Or Yondaime-sama. Would they be disappointed in him? He thought of Rin-san trying to comfort him at his failure and Obito and Yondaime's sympathetic smiles. He chuckled again at his silly thoughts. His students going to other, better teachers was a good thing. They weren't all gone though he supposed. He still had Sakura-chan, in a way. At least, she was here in Konoha anyway. He didn't see her much anymore. Tsunade-sama took care of her training. How were they all?

Kakashi broke from his thoughts when he noticed the memorial up ahead. But there was something else as well. A bundle of black, white, red, and pink. It was a person, he realized, lying as still as death. He rushed to its side immediately, hoping he wasn't too late.

"Kami-sama," he swore. "Sakura-chan…"

He stared at her form in terrific shock. She was covered in dry blood and her breathing was shallow, almost undetectable. A bloody kunai lay next to her and her shirt was ripped right over where her heart should be. This seemed the source of the blood. Had she been attacked? Here of all places, inside the village?

"Sakura!" he called, gently lifting her head onto his lap. She had not even twitched. "Kami-sama, Sakura, what the hell happened?" he cried, desperately wishing she would open those green eyes of hers and tell him everything that had passed.

He knew she was beyond his reach, so he deftly rose with her cradled in his arms, like some blood-stained bride. Tsunade-sama would know what to do. He whisked her away on feet that seemed to not even touch the ground.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama!" cried the next person that would be receiving a fist to the head from one hung-over hokage. She was at work early. What more did they want?

She lifted her aching head from her desk and looked at the door. No one there?

"Tsunade-sama!" the desperate voice called again from the window. Shinobi then.

She turned her head to look at the disturber, intent on telling him not to yell so loudly. She had a huge hangover, obaka. But with one look, her hangover was forgotten.

"Sakura-chan!" She rushed over to her student's limp form, taking her from Kakashi-san and laying her across her desk, shoving the stupid paperwork to the floor. She instantly started searching the girl's body for the cause of so much blood. Finding none, she placed her hands, charged with her own chakra, on Sakura's forehead and heart and began searching for chakra irregularities that would indicate wounds of any kind. She noticed that an extreme amount of chakra was concentrated around Sakura's heart. She could find no injury there yet though, but it was hard to tell with all that extra chakra there. She searched the rest of Sakura. Her red blood cells were considerably lower than what they should be. There was a slightly higher white blood cell percentage, but other than that she was absolutely fine. Tsunade decided to take a closer look at her heart, but first...

"Kakashi-san, stop hovering! I have to concentrate," she told the shinobi who was practically on top of her staring at the pink-haired kunoichi. He soon backed off at her command though. Kakashi always knew when it was best to shut up and follow orders, despite his own worries.

Tsunade sighed in relief and pushed away the chakra surrounding Sakura's heart. But some, no, a lot of it would not move. She took a closer look at the chakra that would not be moved and gasped.

"Kami-sama…"

"What?" Kakashi asked anxiously. Tsunade didn't seem to be making ant attempts to heal Sakura, just running her hands this way and that. Was something terribly wrong? "Is she going to be alright?"

Tsunade didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed a half-full bottle of sake and rinsed away the blood on Sakura's chest. As the blood was washed away, a blood red tattoo was revealed, placed directly over Sakura's heart. _'I know this jutsu! This is…'_

"'Strength'?" wondered Kakashi, face gone pale beneath his mask.

'_Where did you learn that jutsu, Sakura-chan?' _Tsunade wondered frightfully. "Kakashi, go get Shizune-chan and tell her to get a stretcher and a medic team up here stat," she ordered briskly.

"Is she going to be okay?" he demanded, not moving an inch and glaring defiance. The blood coating Sakura ran almost as if fresh when mixed with the sake.

"Do as your hokage commands, shinobi," she scolded, not sparing the time for anything else but to make sure Sakura was taken care of.

"Yes, Godaime-sama," he said grudgingly, still not sure if time was of the essence.

With Kakashi gone, Tsunade turned back to Sakura. Sakura was in no danger, just extremely drained from the dangerous jutsu she had performed only hours ago, if Tsunade guessed right. She placed a hand on Sakura's forehead and performed a jutsu that would signal the brain to wake the body. Sakura stirred and finally opened her eyes. She was still breathing rather shallow, Tsunade noticed, but that was probably from the loss of blood, just like the catatonic state she was in before.

"Ohayo, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura said, rubbing her eyes. "Is it time for training?"

"No, Sakura-chan," Tsunade laughed. "It's time for you to tell me where you learned the jutsu that put that mark on your heart," she said kindly.

Sakura looked confused for a moment and then memory came rushing back. She was wide awake now.

"Ano…I made it up," she said.

"Is this another one of your jutsu that you made and neglected to tell me, your loving sensei, about?" she smiled tolerantly.

Sakura blushed. "Gomen nasai about that, Tsunade-shishou, demo I made this one up last night. Actually, I guess it was really up here the whole time," she said pointing to her cranium.

"I know you told me not to try my kinjutsu so much, but I had to know if I had it in me to be strong." Here, she smiled softly. "As it turns out, I could be one of the strongest kunoichi in Konoha if I put my mind to it. It was the strangest sensation, Tsunade-shishou. In the genjutsu it was like I had no control over my body and it was doing these amazing things I never thought I could do. The genjutsu showed me all the steps I would have to take to be strong. I guess I always knew what to do if it came so easily to my conscious mind. This," she indicated the new tattoo, "was the first step. It's a chakra storing ninjutsu seal similar to what you use for your Creation Rebirth Jutsu." She pointed innocently at the mark upon Tsunade's forehead.

Sakura yawned, her body craving the sleep it had been taken from. Her eyelids dropped lower and lower with every word she said.

"Arigatou for telling me, Sakura-chan. You may go back to sleep now," Tsunade smiled softly at her brilliant student.

"Arigatou, Tsunade-shishou…"

Sakura was out in less than a second.

"What am I going to do with you, Sakura-chan?" she asked fondly.

'_That's another kinjutsu, but it's not hers. That one is almost five hundred years old. It doesn't even have a name anymore. Just the description of what it does. How can a little fifteen year old instinctively know a jutsu such as that? Who are you Sakura-chan?'_

"Tsunade-shishou! The medics are here," Shizune yelled through the door.

"Send them in!"

In rushed three medics, two carrying the stretcher and another to heal during the move if necessary. They were followed by a Kakashi who looked like he was ready to take names and deliver divine retribution.

"Is she going to be alright?" he asked again. This time it was laced with a threat.

Tsunade ignored him for the time being. Kakashi would never dream of attacking his hokage. "I want her put on twenty-four hour surveillance," she said to the medics. "Set up an IV with nutrient supplements. I'll be by later to clean her up. If she wakes, make her go back to sleep. Under no circumstances is she to leave that bed once she's in it. Got it?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," replied the lead medic. The others were already setting Sakura on the stretcher. When they were done with that, they hauled her off to the hospital as if Kakashi's hounds were at their heels. Kakashi was about to follow, but was halted.

"Kakashi!"

Tsunade's bellow was an unmistakable command to stay. Kakashi turned to her with a furious look in his eye. That was the only hint at the hellacious storm raging within him, though (he was Kakashi, after all). She wouldn't tell him what the fuck was going on and now she was keeping him from staying by Sakura-chan's side. Tsunade could understand. One of his precious people was hurt and his hokage was telling him nothing to allay his fears for her health.

Shizune walked in and closed the doors behind her. "Tsunade-hime, is Sakura-chan going to be okay?" The woman seemed much shaken from the sight of her friend being carried away.

Tsunade picked up the sake bottle she had used to clean Sakura and downed the last swallow. "Yes, she's going to be just fine. Sit down, you two."

They did as she said, one more grudgingly than the other. _'I shouldn't tell them this, but I see no way around it. Let's get this over with.'_

"What you just saw," she explained, also taking a seat behind her desk, "were the after effects of a powerful ninjutsu."

"Who attacked her?" Kakashi wanted to know, payback on his mind.

"No one," Tsunade sighed. "That particular ninjutsu is self-inflicted. The user takes a kunai, katana, whatever really, and carves a seal into their flesh, through bone, and finally into a vital organ. The seal then begins to siphon off chakra from the user, just the stuff that normally isn't used for anything and is often lost from day to day, and stores it in the organ that the user inscribed the jutsu into. Very arcane, but it increases chakra levels by almost ten fold. With Sakura's current level, ten fold of her chakra could rival a tailed beast's. That much power, it's no wonder that the ninjutsu is kin," she added in a quiet voice, awes at the very thought of the power that could come from such a jutsu.

"She did that to herself?" Shizune asked quietly in disbelief. That didn't seem like Sakura-chan.

"Just what the hell have you been teaching her?" Kakashi demanded angrily.

Tsunade flicked her gaze up and glared in fury.

"Don't you dare, Kakashi," she threatened in quiet rage. "Who are you to question me?"

"You have no right to be teaching her jutsu like that!"

"I'll teach her whatever the hell I want to teach her!"

"She was my student first! From now on, I demand a say in what you teach her!"

"You gave up all right to her training when she came to me asking for strength!"

The two were practically spitting in each other's faces, both up and snarling. But Kakashi held guilt in his eyes from Tsunade's last comment. It was odd seeing the usually calm, almost apathetic really, Kakashi screaming furiously at the hokage. It was freaking Shizune out.

"I think we all need to just take a deep breath and sit down," Shizune interjected.

"Sit down, Kakashi. I am still the godaime here. Unless you want to spend a couple of days in a maximum security cell, I advise you to keep your temper in check."

'_Did she even hear a word I said?' _Shizune wondered with small mental sigh.

Kakashi sat down, chastised and still angry from Tsunade's slap in the face. One would be hard pressed to find a shinobi with more control over his temper than Kakashi. He calmed his fury just to spite the hag, but still seethed in resentment.

"Tsunade-hime, what more can you tell us about this jutsu?" Shizune asked, desperately trying to find a safe subject to defuse the situation.

"Well, for one thing," she said with a glare in Kakashi's direction, "I didn't teach it to her. She somehow came up with it all by herself, which is next to impossible. That jutsu is _kin_. Even if I wanted to teach it to her, I couldn't."

"Is it really all that bad?" Shizune asked in amazement.

"I'm pretty sure that ninety percent of the nin who used that jutsu died. The lacerations are made by a chakra coated weapon. Even if the nin received medical attention, the very nature of the cut would make it resistant to any healing jutsu and it would be almost impossible to close the wound using other means. The jutsu is supposed to be performed on a vital organ to obtain the best results, so regular medical aid falls exceedingly short. Theoretically, most nin simply bleed to death before they even get a chance to see how well the jutsu worked. The only reason Sakura-chan survived was because of her excellent medical skills. It's safe to say that anyone else would have died."

"Where could she have learned such a jutsu?" Kakashi questioned.

"From my understanding, she made it up from instinct alone."

"She made _another_ jutsu?" Shizune asked incredulously.

"She's been making her own jutsu?" Kakashi asked, astounded.

"Kakashi-san, how long has it been since you've seen her, let alone talked to her?" Tsunade frowned.

"I last saw her a month ago and I last talked to her… six months ago at Ichiraku," he defended.

"Wow, Kakashi-san. Genma-hentai sees her more than _that_," Shizune stated. She saw Tsunade send him a deadly glare. _'And he questioned her rights as sensei, too.' _Shizune thought._ 'The nerve!'_

Kakashi scowled at Shizune's statement. Was he really that removed from Sakura? Now that he thought about it, he realized it had been a long time since he'd seen her. Always off on S-class missions, he had never taken the time to notice Sakura slowly drifting away from him. He decided to fix that soon.

"She told me that she actually learned of it from her subconscious mind when she placed herself under her own kinjutsu," Tsunade informed them, getting back on topic.

"You spoke to her? And you didn't tell me she was awake?" he said low in his throat, trying to keep from screaming again.

Tsunade decided that he was more menacing when he wasn't screaming, but Tsunade rarely gave in to intimidation tactics. "You couldn't have spoken to her. She was barely coherent when I was talking to her. She lost a lot of blood, Kakashi. She needs all the sleep she can get," Tsunade informed.

"How long will she be out?"

"Hours. Days. I'm not completely sure," Tsunade replied with a worried tone.

Kakashi sighed and ran a hand through his hair. What a way to begin the morning.

"Kakashi-san if you really value her as much as you showed today, I advise you to stop ignoring her," Tsunade continued.

"I have been ignoring her, haven't I?" Kakashi questioned regretfully. _'I thought she would be safe behind Konoha's walls. I entrusted her protection to Tsunade and the village. I can see now that was a mistake.' _"I was so relieved when she stopped receiving missions outside the village. But there are other ways for her to be harmed it seems."

'_That poor man,' _thought Shizune. _'He really doesn't know Sakura-chan at all. She's been going on missions outside of Konoha again for over a year.'_

"Alright, Kakashi-san. I'll give you this mission," Tsunade conceded softly. "Watch over her for the time being. Make sure she doesn't end up hurting herself again." Maybe the ass would stop being so self-righteous once he figured out his Sakura-chan had grown up from the girl he once knew. "She's had quite a masochistic tendency lately."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," he said. He rose from his chair, gave a respectful bow and left for the hospital. _'Out the window, of course,' _Tsunade thought with a mental shake of her head.

"Tsunade-hime, was that really wise?"

"What do you mean, Shizune-chan?"

"He doesn't even know the first thing about Sakura-chan! How can he protect her from herself if he doesn't even know who she is? I think _Genma_-hentai would be better than him. Or better yet, let Neji-kun watch over her. There are so many better qualified!"

"I know. But let's give him a chance to reacquaint himself with his former student. He deserves that much at least. In a way, she is the only teammate he has left right now, even if he has neglected her in the past. Who knows; this just might do them both some good. At least they won't be so lonely anymore."

"I suppose," Shizune still worried, casting a dubious glance at the window Kakashi had just jumped out of.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Tsunade assured.

* * *

Kakashi sat in the chair beside her bed. The room was painted a sickening mauve with flowered bordering. The whole place smelled that sterile, antiseptic smell of all hospitals, except when he was sitting next to Sakura with her cherry blossom shampoo. The incessant beeping of the heart monitor, however relieving, was starting to annoy him. Kami-sama, he hated hospitals.

The girl lay there, IV in her arm and a peaceful look on her face. They hadn't bothered to remove her blood stained clothes. Tsunade said she would be by later to clean her up after all. He hated seeing his pink-haired kunoichi just lie there looking so vulnerable. Hospitals made everyone seem vulnerable. That was one reason he never went to one for his injuries. He somehow always got healing though. He remembered the last time he had a conversation with Sakura.

He had just gotten home from Hokage Tower after giving Tsunade his mission report. He had dropped his act and let himself limp to the bed. His ankle had been sprained, his arm had had a fairly deep gash, and his ribs had been bruised. He reached down to his night stand where he kept his first aid kit. His arm wasn't bleeding as much as it had been, but blood still seeped out. Before he could start to wrap it, there was a tapping on his door. He got up to answer it, grim faced and in pain. It was a nurse that Tsunade had sent to him, knowing he wouldn't follow her orders to get treated at the hospital. No matter. He would simply scare this one off like he had the others. He swung the door open. As long as she hadn't sent…

'_Sakura-chan. Again. Damn it all.' _

He couldn't bear to scare away Sakura, especially when she was giving him the cutest worried expression he had ever seen. He sighed and swung the door all the way open, her cue to come in. He limped after her as she headed toward his room. She knew by now where he kept his medical supplies. He sat down on his bed as she pulled out the necessary tools from his first aid kit. She was the first to break the strained silence between them.

"Kakashi-sempai, you really shouldn't keep doing this," she scolded, taking his arm. "One of these days you're going to end up bleeding to death because you were too stubborn to go to the hospital like normal people."

"Sakura-chan," he pouted, "it's just a flesh wound."

"Flesh wound my ass! I can see bone here, baka-sempai!"

He chuckled at the familiarity he felt at her temper. That was the Sakura-chan he knew, not some pensive nurse figure.

She just harrumphed and scowled at his humor and began cleaning the wound with a little more force than necessary. Had he been anyone else, he would have flinched from her rough ministrations. But he was Kakashi. He sat with a calm face. He knew that Sakura knew him better than to believe that façade, though. Her petty revenge fulfilled, she went about healing the wound with chakra. He loved it when she healed him (not that he would ever let her know that). Her chakra inside him was always so warm and soothing, like some metaphysical embrace. That was another reason he hated hospitals. Sakura was about the only one he let get this close to him. It was very invasive of personal space, having someone else's chakra pumped into you. When his arm was completely healed, she moved on to his ankle. While she was down there, she asked him to remove his shirt so she could get to his ribs. He complied easily. The girl then healed his ribs and that was that. She really had turned into quite the fine medic.

"Come on," he said, standing up, righting his shirt, and offering her a hand up from her kneeling position on the floor. "Let's go to Ichiraku. My treat." His eye crinkled with the smile he gave her.

She took his hand and they were out his door.

"So, sempai how was your mission? Y'know, besides the flesh wounds?" she asked sarcastically as they were walking out, giving him a bright, sun-filled smile

That was six months ago. Now, after almost losing her, he realized how much she meant to him. He wanted his vibrant, energetic, argumentative Sakura back. He decided he could wait hours or even days. He reached out to her sleeping form, grabbed her hand in his, and pulled out his latest copy of _Icha Icha Violence_, fully settled in for the long wait.

* * *

Tsunade strode into the room with purpose. She had some of Sakura's usual attire under her arm and a chip on her shoulder.

First, Sakura's stupid alarm system got the better of her even though she knew it was an illusion. _'That girl is getting too damn good at what she does. That dead Sakura-chan looked too frickin' real to be an illusion.' _

Then, she found that damn hentai sleeping in Sakura's apartment! Granted that was why Sakura leased that particular apartment. As a medic-nin, the injured would sporadically be sent to her for light treatment. A place to rest was usually required for her patients and Sakura probably got tired of cleaning blood off of her own sheets. Better to have a guest bedroom, and the girl had enough medical supplies in the closet to stock her own frickin' clinic.

Now, surveying the room quickly, she discovered another hentai had taken residence at Sakura's bedside. Kakashi slouched, asleep, in the chair with his dirty, little book covering his face to keep out the light. She was half tempted to kick the chair right out from under him, but with that death grip on Sakura's hand, he was bound to take Sakura with him when he fell. She gave him a disgusted sneer and got to work instead.

Tsunade removed Sakura's blood stained garments and grabbed the water pitcher on the nightstand beside Sakura's bed. She started to scrub the caked, dry blood off with a wash cloth she had brought with her. Sakura didn't even twitch. The girl had done an excellent job healing herself, although that scar and tattoo would be there forever.

The blood all gone, Tsunade-shishou redressed her little kunoichi. She smiled softly down at the pink-haired angel Kami-sama had decided to bless her with, even though she still felt she had a lot to make up for. _'I've found out what you are, Sakura-chan. You'd hate the story if I told it to you. You might even end up hating Konoha eventually. Gomen nasai masu, Sakura-chan, but I don't know how to tell you yet. Maybe one day. I'll see if five hundreds years can change prophecy.' _You always found the worst things in a gakure's kin files.

She let out a wistful sign and then turned to glare at a certain sempai-hentai of Sakura's. It was time for her kick.

"Wake up, Kakashi!"

Kakashi awoke suddenly when an almost always deadly foot connected with his sternum with a loud thud. No breaks, thankfully, but his entire chest would be blue tomorrow. Tsunade grinned like a wolf.

Kakashi groaned. "Tsunade-sama, could you have at least waited 'till my personal nurse is up and ready to heal me," he wheezed. He picked his book up off the floor and slipped it into his pocket. Tsunade was a little irked that in that time, the hentai still had not let go of Sakura-chan's hand.

"She's more Neji-san's personal nurse than yours, obaka," she said cuttingly.

Kakashi turned to the sleeping girl with guilty eyes. "Is she really so close to others than she is with me, her own teammate?" he asked.

"She's a medic-nin as well as my student, Kakashi-san. A medic-nin almost always oversees the healing of other ninja. Civilians just aren't well equipped to deal with an injured nin. As such, Sakura has dealt with almost every nin in Konoha at some time or other. They love her bedside manner. Most have become very attached to her, having to trust her so thoroughly when they were in such a weakened state. It helps that she's a natural at healing and probably better at it than Shizune-chan now. Neji-kun will let absolutely no one but Sakura-chan heal him with chakra," Tsunade laughed, "something about her 'being the only one who can manage chakra control decent enough to heal him' and how he 'hates the messy work of anyone else.' I think he's working on a crush. She's managed to pull together quite a… diverse fan club."

Kakashi scowled at this. "Who else is in this _fan club_ of hers?"

If Tsunade didn't know any better, she would have sworn he spat those words. "Asuma for one. Ibiki-san adores her intellect and her spunk. I had to threaten Genma-hentai on pain of death not to touch her again. Kiba-kun and Akamaru-kun just want to hug/lick her all the time. She's on Shikamaru-kun's "Least Troublesome" list, when she bothers to play a game of shogi with him. Ino-chan is her friend again. Tenten-chan loves training with her. Kurenai-san wishes she had gotten her as a student. I could go on."

"That's enough," he said. She could have stopped at Ibiki. It was practically impossible to get on that man's good side. He had to almost die before the interrogator would show him any form of respect. Kakashi squeezed her hand a little harder. How had he missed so much?

"You might as well have been gone from her life these two years. She despaired for a little while, not that you were around to notice. She threw herself into training. She started to train with other teams and she found friendship and comfort with them. Nothing to replace you three. You're irreplaceable to her. But they helped her rise up from that hole of sorrow she fell into. She has all of Konoha to be close to now. They saved her heart, and now she does her best to save all of them. If Konoha is a family, then she is like the mother."

"And all shinobi her adopted children?" he asked sardonically.

"It fits her personality doesn't it?"

"Apparently, I wouldn't know anything about that anymore," he replied with an almost bitter tone.

Tsunade gave him a degrading look. "Alright, Kakashi-san. Get out."

"What?" he asked, squeezing Sakura's hand a little tighter.

"Hentai no baka, do you want to see her naked then?" Tsunade questioned, waving Sakura's clothes at him. "I'm sure she would appreciate that when I tell her what a clingy baka you're being. I hope you like knuckle sandwiches."

"Ah!" He gasped. "I'll leave. Just don't tell Sakura-chan about this, please."

"What? The great Copy Nin is scared of a little girl's fist?"

"She may be little put her punch is far from it," he said proudly, giving Sakura's hand a final squeeze and exiting the room. "Come get me when you're done." The door clicked shut.

"Baka," she scoffed. _'He's so out of it that he didn't even realize I had changed her already. You really have quite an effect on him, Sakura-chan. That kind of lack of attention could get him killed one day. Oh well. For right now, it suits my purposes just fine. I really didn't want him around for this.'_

Tsunade threw Sakura's tattered and bloodstained old shirt away and took up the seat the infamous Copy Nin had just occupied. She picked up Sakura's hand and ran a chakra laced finger across her pulse.

"Wake up, Sakura-chan," she said sweetly.

Sakura gave a little moan, opened her eyes, and then yawned widely. "Tsunade-shishou, it's alright! Kaka-sempai only fell down a well. And everyone knows men float! Low density after all," she mumbled, still only half awake.

Tsunade managed to contain her laughter. Sakura's dream talk was always the funniest.

"Yes, Sakura-chan. I'm sure _Kaka_-sempai will be _just_ fine. Now, do you know where you are?"

Sakura rubbed the sleep from her eyes as see took a drowsy look around.

"The hospital?" she answered. "But how did I get here? I thought I was at the memorial."

"Kakashi found you. He brought you to my office, covered in blood. I thought I told you not to use that jutsu again. Just look where it's gotten you!" Tsunade chastised fiercely.

"Gomen nasai masu, Tsunade-shishou. Demo sa…" she said, hiding guiltily behind her hair. "I had to know. I had to know if I had what it takes to be strong!"

"I don't want to be left behind again," she said softly. "It seems that my whole life, someone has always had to fight for me. I want to fight for myself now! I want them all to be able to count on me to save myself, so maybe they won't waste time trying to protect me. I don't want to be a burden anymore. But… it still turned out that way, didn't it?" she asked dejectedly.

Tsunade winced. What could she say to this girl who was trying so hard, but was getting beaten down by hard truth? Nothing. There was nothing to say. No words to comfort. All she could do was wrap her arms around Sakura. "You may be a burden, Sakura."

The girl gasped in hurt.

"But you are one burden I wouldn't want to live without."

"Tsunade-shishou," she sighed and started to tear up. "Arigatou." She hugged back.

"Besides, Sakura-chan. From what I can tell," she said, pulling away slightly and fingering the place where the tattoo was hidden, "you are about to become very strong indeed."

Sakura wiped the tears that had yet to fall away, leaving no room for any falling at all. She smiled brilliantly at her teacher. Tsunade smiled back.

"Speaking of strength… Yo, Ibiki! I know you tapped her room so you might as well get down here. I have some things we need to discuss."

"Huh?" Sakura was baffled.

"Ibiki-san's taken quite a shine to you, girl. It's time to set up your training with him, since you're so bent on becoming strong. But," she said, pointing a commanding finger at her, "no more of this 'I'll cast a jutsu on myself and freak out my sensei' business. Okay?"

"Yosh!" Sakura nodded, still smiling.

* * *

Kakashi leaned against the wall across from Sakura's room, wishing Tsunade would hurry up and let him in. Then he felt a presence coming. Someone had just transported into the hall. _'Ibiki,'_ he realized.

"Yo," he greeted, raising the customary hand to wave. Ibiki just flashed his usual smug smirk.

"Kakashi-san. I would have thought you would be in there," he said, motioning with his head at Sakura's door.

"I was, but Tsunade kicked me out."

'_Hn. Baka. He doesn't even know Sakura-chan is awake in there. He'll probably piss his pants when he finds out, not that Tsunade-sama is going to tell him, poor bastard.'_

"Well, I'm going in."

"That wouldn't be very wise."

"Hn. I was summoned," he smirked and entered the room, the only sound in the hallway the soft click as the door shut.

Kakashi was expecting him to come flying out of the room with a swollen cheek and shouts of 'hentai' following him, but nothing happened. The hall remained silent and Kakashi scowled. Something was going on in there.

* * *

Ibiki walked in to find Sakura sitting complacently upright in the bed and Tsunade sitting beside her in a chair. Sakura gave him a hundred-kilowatt 'I'm happy to see you' smile, and then glared fiercely. Ibiki smiled. He knew where this was headed. She reacted the same way when she found out he had wire-tapped her phone, bugged all her usual hangouts, and managed to get a few cameras in her living room, respectively. Really, he did it only to get her to loosen up around him. Her anger was quick to rid her of all timidity toward him, ever.

"Ibiki-sempai, you bugged my room?" Sakura asked with a twitching eyebrow.

"Of course, Sakura-chan. For your own benefit. Didn't want any perverts taking advantage of a defenseless girl."

"This is a hospital. I don't think anyone is going to try and jump me in a place like this. And spying on a defenseless girl isn't that far off from jumping her bones. Where the hell do you come off? I thought you needed the hokage's permission to bug a private building!"

"First, this building is owned by the hokage, the government, making it technically a public facility. Second, I didn't think the hokage would mind," he smirked at her.

"Why, you! You assume too much baka! You _have_ to have _written_ permission from the hokage for it to be legal!"

'_Why are they talking about me as if I wasn't here?" _Tsunade mentally sighed. _'It's like this every time they're together." _

"Who ever said that I was concerned with legalities?"

"Tsunade-shishou do you hear him? I think you should lock him up for that!"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama, I think you should imprison one of your best jounin for playing a few tricks on his favorite kunoichi."

Sakura growled at him. "How can I respond to that?" she yelled. "You're making it ridiculous to stay mad at you." Inside, she was trying very hard not to smile.

'_Will they finish this already?'_ Tsunade wondered impatiently.

Ibiki chuckled and walked over to Sakura. Then he leaned in and hugged the life out of her, belly laughing. "You always did have spunk, Sakura-chan. It's what I like about you."

Sakura hugged back. "That and my cute, girlish charm, right?"

Ibiki chuckled again and let go. "Right! And thanks. I have a reason to tap your hangouts, now. Maybe next time, I can stop you before you pull some stupid stunt like this again. You had Raido running in circles once we all found out what happened, kid. All of us were. You owe us some damage payments. Anko threw a table through the wall."

"What was Anko doing at Recon?" she asked, horrified (she would probably get screeched at and huggled the next time she met up with the dango lover) and a little curious.

"Giving us info on the Forest of Death. Don't worry; we calmed her down before she broke anything else. You'll only have to pay for the wall."

"Cheapskate! Anko should have to…"

"If you two are done," Tsunade interrupted, "I would like to talk about her training."

"Un," Ibiki agreed. "Saturdays and Sundays, 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM good for you?" he asked, turning to Sakura.

"Yep! That's my regular shift at the hospital."

"I know. Is that all Tsunade-sama?"

"Well, yes," Tsunade said, astounded. _'If I had known it would take so little time, I wouldn't have asked him to come down here.'_

"Alright then, I'll be going. Get some rest, kid. You look like you need it," he said as Sakura tried to hide a yawn behind her hand. Ibiki walked out of the room and the door clicked softly behind him.

Only Sakura and Tsunade were left. "Okay, Sakura-chan. I'm going to put you back to sleep now."

"Thank you, Tsunade-shishou," she said, lying down as Tsunade put a finger to Sakura's forehead. She was in deep sleep in less than a second. "Get well soon, Sakura-chan."

"Now to face the Hatake."

* * *

Tsunade walked out of Sakura's room. "All done, Kakashi-san. You can see her now."

"So, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"The head of the Reconnaissance and Interrogation Specials isn't summoned for no reason, Tsunade-sama. What else aren't you telling me?"

"I wanted Ibiki's opinion on something. He knows a lot. I thought he might have some insight on any sources she used to come up with that jutsu. Even a lower level jutsu of the same type would cause significant damages. I was hoping it was an isolated event and that she didn't think it up from watching a similar jutsu. No worries. Sakura-chan's a genius. She thought it up all on her own."

Kakashi frowned, but let the lie go. He had no way to prove her wrong, only his gut feeling. Kakashi headed for the door, intent on returning to his vigil.

"Kakashi-san, Sakura-chan talks in her sleep. Be prepared," Tsunade advised. Kakashi nodded his thanks and entered the room, leaving Tsunade in the hallway.

Once he was gone, Tsunade let out a relieved sigh. _'I **really** didn't want to tell him about her new training. He would have pitched a fit. He seems to have gotten back to normal, though. They'll be good for each other. I made the right choice, assigning him to watch over her. Now, I think I'll head over to the pachinko parlor. Or maybe the bar. I could use some sake.'_

Tsunade left the hospital with almost no worries over her student.

* * *

Kakashi slumped down in his chair. Sakura had moved to her side now and seemed to be in good, deep sleep. He raised his hand and ruffled her soft hair.

"Kaka-sempai, gomen…"

Kakashi looked mildly surprised and leaned in to hear what she was saying. Sorry for what?

"Gomen for pushing you into the well…Naruto made me do it…"

He rested his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hand. He gave her a loving smile of amusement. Sleep talking indeed.

"What's that Akamaru-kun? Naruto fell down the well?"

"Kaka-sempai…I don't wanna take pictures…"

"Naruto stop yelling…"

"Genma no hentai…"

Kakashi scowled and avoided the fist that unconsciously swung at him. Despite being asleep, she still managed to take off the arm of his chair. He sighed.

"Don't tell Kaka-sempai..."

His eyes widened and he leaned over her, wondering what she didn't want him to know. _'This is wrong! I'm taking advantage of her while she's sleeping!'_

'_But it's not like she tells me anything when she's awake. She always goes to Tsunade-sama.'_

He shook his head. _'That's still no excuse.'_

He looked down at his sweet, little kunoichi. _'Aw, what's it going to hurt?'_

"Don't tell Kaka-sempai, demo… Neji wears heart-print boxers, too."

'_What! How the hell would she know that?' _He could just imagine it now, Neji Hyuuga doing a strip-tease and parading around in his underwear in front of innocent, blushing to the point of fainting, little Sakura._ 'Damn Hyuuga. If he so much as touched her! He and I are going to have a long talk very soon.'_

"No, Neji-kun, stop…that tickles…"

'_Forget the talk! His ass is mine! I'm going to beat him to a bloody…'_

"Good night, Kaka-sempai…"

Sakura stopped sleep talking as her breathing got deeper, and she started to snore ever so slightly. Kakashi stopped his mental rant and just looked at her peaceful face. He ruffled her hair again. He never realized how much he had missed her until he was literally staring her right in the face. His beautiful, little kunoichi…

"Good night, Sakura-chan," he said softly.

He grabbed her hand again and settled down to read his favorite book until she woke up.

* * *

Sakura woke up slowly. First, she noticed what she could hear- a very annoying beeping noise she knew well. A heart monitor? Then she noticed what she could feel- a palm that felt somehow familiar. A half-gloved hand holding hers? Her sense of smell hit her next. Sandalwood and dog? Then she opened her eyes and saw white. "Kaka-sempai?"

"Ah! Sakura-chan! You're awake," he smiled behind his mask.

She yawned and sat up, looking around and taking in the current stock of things. "Ohayou, Kakashi-sempai," she smiled. Then she reached over and took out the IV, applying pressure after the needle was removed to help stop any bleeding. Next she took off the heart monitor, and the machine made an enormous flat line racket until Sakura reached over and turned the thing off. Kakashi watched her in amusement. She made quite the little nurse.

"Ohayou, Sakura-chan. Although, I don't think you should have done that. Tsunade hasn't cleared you yet and the medic-nin here are under strict orders for you not to leave this bed under any circumstances."

"Why?"

"Let's just say you gave us all a nice scare," he smiled and his eye crinkled.

"Tsunade-shishou said you were the one who found me. Sorry about that," she said guiltily, hiding behind her hair.

"Don't worry about it. As long as you're okay. That's all the matters."

"I guess," she fidgeted. She hadn't seen him in six months, yet he was acting as if he hadn't been gone at all. "Um, any idea when Tsunade-shishou will give the okay for me to go home?"

"Nope, but I'll keep you company until then."

"Thanks, Kakashi-sempai," she smiled. "She looked at the clock on the bedside table. "Eleven thirty? How long have I been asleep?"

"About a day and a half."

"That makes today," she paused to count, "Thursday! I have a shift later tonight! A day and a half you said? I have to go home and feed my plants! Ino is probably mad at me for standing her up for lunch yesterday! Ah! There's so much to do!"

"Sakura-chan, calm down," he said quietly, making little motions with his hands to signal her to settle down. "I doubt they're going to make you work in your condition. Ino-san was here earlier. She understands why you couldn't make it. Kotetsu-san also came by with Izumo-san, muttering something about man eating plants and imported contraband," he said, scratching the back of his head. Sakura sighed in relief. Everything seemed like it was taken care of.

"Oh, okay then," she said, flopping back down in the bed.

"You're going back to sleep?" he chuckled, resting his chin in his hand.

"I'm still kind of tired," she said, rubbing her forearm over her eyes.

"Is it that jutsu?"

"Yeah. Right now, it's storing all my chakra and only leaving about half of my normal chakra capacity for recuperation and daily activities. It's new, so it needs to calibrate to the amount of chakra my body stores normally and replenishes daily and adjust so that I keep my same amount of chakra on-hand and just a little extra stored in the seal. Once it calibrates, I won't have this problem. It's just finding the balance right now." She yawned.

Kakashi chuckled at her again, reached out and ruffled her hair. "Come on, sleepyhead. You've been in bed long enough. Everyone's worried about you. You should show them you're alive and well."

"Why wouldn't I be alive?" she asked, brushing his hand off her head in annoyance.

"It's just a rumor," he informed, letting his hand fall and not letting the small hurt from her action show. "Anko found out and started blabbing across town that a certain pink-haired kunoichi was mortally wounded and lying in the hospital on the brink of death."

"She's always blowing things out of proportion," Sakura sighed.

"I heard from Genma that you'll need to be seeing her soon about a wall."

"I have to get something out of her for repayment! Ibiki-sensei is making me pay for the wall when I didn't even break it this time!" she pouted.

"This time?"

"Well, you see," she said, scratching her cheek guiltily, "I sometimes meet Genma when working at the emergency care room they have at Recon and those meeting usually end up with me throwing him through a window, a wall, a table, once through this really nice shoji with a moon and mountain art. It took my entire savings to pay for that one," she sighed. The funny thing was that Kakashi could clearly picture Sakura throwing Genma, the baka no hentai, through each thing, and found a disturbing amount of pleasure in each image. "That's when Tsunade stepped in and threatened him to leave me alone and me to control myself. He still has trouble keeping his hands to himself every now and then, though."

"I'll talk to him about that," Kakashi said, in a tone that implied pain for poor Genma.

"Wouldn't that be kind of cruel?"

"What?"

"Punishing him twice. I'm a big girl now, Kakashi-sempai. I make him hurt when he steps out of line. I can take care of myself," she pouted.

Kakashi looked at her in surprise. _'It seems my little kunoichi has done some growing up. But does she really think I'll let any other man besides our team touch her and get away with it? I'll get Genma back, but I don't have to let her know that.' _Kakashi smiled at his new plan and ruffled his kunoichi's hair again. Her pout only got bigger, making Kakashi's grin even wider.

"It seems you can take care of yourself, but that doesn't mean I won't stop protecting you."

Sakura sighed and removed his hand again, but this time held it in her own. "That's the whole point of this, Kakashi-sempai. I don't want you to protect me. I don't want to be the one always relying on others for her well-being." Her gaze pleaded with him to understand her determination on this point.

"Sakura-chan, I protect you because I want to, because you are precious to me. The same goes for Naruto and almost anyone who knows you. I don't care how strong you become. I'm always going to be there to make sure you never suffer. If I could, I'd make it to where you never go on any missions ever again. Then, I wouldn't risk losing you."

Sakura stared at him with a horrified and hurt expression. _'Does he really think so little of me? No missions at all. As if I'm not cut out to be a shinobi.'_

"But I know that is not what you want, not to mention a waste of your talents. I just don't trust anyone else but me with you on missions," he said, gripping her hand tightly, as if she would suddenly slip from his grasp. "I don't want to lose you too."

"Wow," she said, trying to get over the happy sensation that made her feel like crying. "I think that's the most you've ever said to me in all the time we've known each other."

He smiled at her smile. "With the way you've been acting lately, it needed to be said. So stop trying to not need me already."

"Well, I can't promise that I'll stop trying to be as strong as Naruto-kun and Sasuke," she said impishly.

Then she leaned over and gave him a loving hug. "But I'll always need you, jii-chan no hentai!"

Kakashi was stunned for a moment at the sudden contact, but was soon hugging her back just as fiercely. They stayed like that for awhile, until Sakura started to squirm.

"Ne, Kakashi-sempai, I think you should let go now."

"Hm? Why?"

Then the door clicked open.

"That's why."

Neji stood in horrified shock at the two embracing. From what he could tell, it was only Kakashi doing the hugging.

"Teme no hentai!"

Kakashi turned to see who had come in as Neji threw a juuken punch at his face. Kakashi deftly caught Neji's wrist before he hit, but Neji recovered quickly and snagged Sakura away from Kakashi. Neji backed the two away from the offensive man, holding Sakura to him protectively. Kakashi was annoyed.

"Just what are you accusing me of?" he asked dangerously, walking menacingly toward the one who had interrupted his hug.

Neji tensed and handed the flowers he was carrying to Sakura and pushed her behind his back. "Byakugan," he said, activating his kekkei genkai. "Touch her and die!"

Kakashi laughed in his face. He just decided he didn't like Neji. "Think about who you are talking to, Neji."

Sakura sighed. She was afraid this would happen the moment she sensed Neji's concealed chakra approaching her room. Now she was stuck in a room with two overprotective children.

The two men tensed and prepared to do battle, but Sakura intervened.

She stepped around Neji to stand in between the two, eyes closed and frowning. Both could see what was coming. "Ah, Sakura-chan!" Neji exclaimed. Kakashi drew in a breath.

"Baka!" she yelled and punched both of them in the head, resulting in a large bump on either cranium.

"Ite," they both said, cringing and nursing their battle wounds. Both felt lucky that the bump was only minor. _'She must not be fully recovered,'_ they both thought, sure more damage would have been inflicted otherwise.

"Just what the hell do you two think you are doing?" she screamed.

"I thought he was molesting you," Neji defended.

"He needs some respect beaten into him," Kakashi stated.

Sakura growled. "Neji-kun, it was a _hug_. You don't get much more platonic than that."

Neji hung his head, frowning but effectively rebuked.

Kakashi mentally sighed. _'Aa. Platonic. Wait, what am I thinking? There's nothing else between us. She's fifteen for Kami's sake. Although, I do enjoy watching her berate that whelp a little too much.'_

"And you!" she snarled, turning on Kakashi. "Don't read porn in public and people won't think you have a natural sexually deviant mind." Then she walked over and flopped down on the bed, flowers still in hand. She finally took note of them and brought them to her nose for a sniff. They were beautiful and smelled wonderful. "Arigatou, Neji-kun," she said happily, reveling in being given such a great gift.

Kakashi scowled and turned to glare at the Hyuuga. There was only one chair in the room. One of them would have to stand. Neji glared back, thinking along the same lines. "Janken," he whispered, not wanting Sakura to hear. When Sakura wasn't looking, they threw their hand. Neji won rock to scissors. They both walked back over to Sakura, Neji smirking and Kakashi scowling.

"So you noticed me coming?" Neji asked, pointedly ignoring the man with a bleached broomstick for hair standing next to her.

"A mile away! I win this round!" she said happily. "Kakashi-sempai, why are you standing?" She looked around for another chair. There wasn't one. "Oh. Well, sit on the bed then. Don't just stand there," she commanded, pulling up her legs to sit cross-legged and give him room on the bed.

Kakashi grinned in triumph and Neji's jaw dropped in disbelief. If he had known she would let the stander sit beside her, he would have chosen paper. Neji didn't trust Kakashi anymore than Kakashi liked Neji. In other words, not at all.

Exactly as Kakashi planned. He knew Sakura's kind heart would never let someone go standing while everyone else was sitting. "So what's this about winning a round?"

"Oh, it's just a game Neji and I play. He tries to be really sneaky and come up behind me without my noticing his chakra. He's gotten really good at masking his, but I've also gotten really good at sensing him. That's probably why you didn't notice him coming. Eat that, Neji-kun! I win the day."

"I seem to remember that I won the day last time," he reminded.

Sakura scrunched her nose at him. "Yeah, but that was only because I was trying to heal three broken ribs and a punctured lung," she pouted. "And you almost made me hack through his lung when you scared me like that."

"A good shinobi should always be aware of her surroundings," he teased, masking his smile for effect.

"You're so demanding, Neji-kun," she said, pressing her index fingers together despondently.

'_They have their own game? I've got to break them up!'_ Kakashi thought.

"Well, if it's any consolation, you're better at it than Lee," he said, throwing her a bone.

"Neji-kun, Lee-kun can barely use chakra for anything but taijutsu. How can he sense it?"

"He can't. This is why you're better at it." In truth he didn't play this game with anyone else besides teammates and Sakura, and it wasn't really fair to Tenten to compare the two kunoichi.

'_But are they even together like that?'_ Kakashi wondered. _'It doesn't matter. I don't trust any male, besides team 7, around Sakura-chan.'_

"So, did you bring me anything else, Neji-kun?"

"Aa. Ino said to give you this," he said, handing over a receipt.

"Five hundred ryou? What is this?" she screamed.

"Ino said that if you couldn't manage to eat lunch with her the least you could do was pay the bill," he said, smiling.

"What did she have? Three different meals and every desert on the menu at the best restaurant in town? I knew she was a pig, but this is ridiculous!"

Kakashi and Neji chuckled, and Kakashi turned the receipt over and placed it back in her hands. Sakura scanned the paper, confused, until she found the fine print at the bottom.

"Junko's Joke Shop?" she read. "Har har har. That was just _so_ funny. Almost gave me a heart attack!"

Neji and Kakashi were still laughing.

Sakura sighed. "When can I get out of here?"

Sakura looked around and spied a big red call button on the panel next to her bed. Smirking mischievously, she gave the button a big push, expecting all hell to break loose and nurses to come flying in and raging about saving their adored Sakura-sempai. All three waited, but when nothing happened after a minute or two, Sakura got angry. Neji and Kakashi shied away from her after seeing the promise of pain in her eyes. She started pounding on the button furiously and unrelenting. Sakura knew that somewhere, someone was being treated to a very annoying and deafening round of beeping alarms. And she had a pretty good idea of who that someone was.

"What the hell do you want?" screamed a rather disheveled looking nurse who had just appeared in the doorway.

"Ah! Kagome-chan!" Sakura said, now all smiles and docility. Kakashi and Neji sweated.

"Could you by any chance tell me when I will be released?"

The nurse, now identified as one Kagome-chan, looked on in befuddlement. "Um, I don't know. Right now I guess," she said, glancing at the removed IV and heart monitor. "Just let me give a final check of your vitals and I suppose you're free to go."

"Excellent!"

Kakashi scooted over and let the nurse do her job. Sakura sat patiently through the ordeal and Neji smirked. He knew she was just itching to get up and do some work. She had missed quite a bit of time.

"Yosh, Sakura-sensei. You're ready to go. If you'll excuse me…"

The nurse was out the door in the blink of an eye. Neji and Kakashi wondered at the rush. Sakura smiled wolfishly and leaned in between Kakashi and Neji to mock-whisper the answer to the question that was written all over their faces.

"Kagome-chan has a boyfriend that she likes to take to work with her. That's why she didn't answer the first call too."

Both men nodded in new understanding.

"Well," Sakura said, jumping of the bed and bouncing to the doorway. "Let's get out of here. I'm hungry! You two want to come with me to Ichiraku?"

Both men stood and followed behind her through the doorway.

"Actually, Sakura-chan, I have training with Gai-sensei. Another time maybe?"

"Absolutely," Sakura smiled, waving to him as the three split in different directions down the hallway.

"Ja ne," Neji waved back and was then gone around the corner.

"What about you, Kakashi-sempai?"

"Ramen sounds tasty right now," he replied, awarding her with an eye crinkling smile.

They walked out of the hospital together and were soon strolling down market district in a comfortable silence.

"So you're a sensei, now?" he questioned.

"What?"

"The nurse back there called you Sakura-sensei."

"Oh, that! Well, I had to teach a few medical classes to the new civilian nurses about caring for shinobi, among other things. It wasn't anything really big, but for some reason the title seemed to stick. I tried telling them to call me just Sakura, but they didn't listen."

Kakashi chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"I remember what it took to convince _you_ to stop calling me Kakashi-sensei."

"I'd rather forget," Sakura sulked. "I did not enjoy being prank called at three in the morning, the time that I'm just falling asleep after my shift at the hospital, by a soused jounin who should know better than to act his sandal size!" she lectured.

"You yelled at me then too," he chuckled again.

"That's why I'd rather forget. I woke up the neighbors and they threw eggs at me and _claimed _that they thought it was cats screeching on the railing. We don't even have cats in our area! I was covered in nasty egg yolk. Do you know how icky egg yolk feels in your hair and running down your neck?"

"I can imagine," he smiled at her. She was making wild motions with her hands as her story progressed. She always was a demonstrative talker. He snorted softly in amusement as she got the funniest look on her face when she recounted the egg experience.

"And it was kind of cold that night, too! And I don't screech like a cat when I yell, either," she pouted.

"Definitely not," Kakashi said, not really paying attention to what she was saying anymore and just enjoying her company. Kami-sama, he had missed her. "And then you called me Kakashi-baka until I came back from my next mission," he scowled. "What made you change your mind to Kakashi-sempai?"

"After you came back from that mission, I had to pay a house call to a certain shinobi who refuses to go to the hospital for treatment," she glared. "You were really busted up, but through all that rough treatment you still only winced whenever I touched an especially tender spot. It renewed my respect for you and I realized that while you have your immature moments, you're still one hell of ninja, sempai! If you want to know the truth, it was a real honor having you as a teacher. But don't let that go to your head! I can barely handle you as you are. I don't need you getting arrogant and troublesome."

Kakashi was ready to burst with pride. Such praising words from one of the few people whose opinion he cared about. It seemed the spark in his eye gave away his feelings.

"I told you not to let it go to your head," she sighed. "Oh, well. I guess it's too late now."

She looked forlornly at the ground.

Still smiling, he reached over and ruffled her hair. She half glared and half pouted at his affection, which earned her a chuckle. How did he ever leave her?

By now, they had reached Ichiraku and Kakashi pulled the flap back for her to enter, earning a quiet thanks in return.

"Konnichiwa, Teuchi-san! Ayame-nee-chan!"

"Yo."

"Welcome, Sakura-chan. Kakashi-san. What'll you have?"

Sakura took her seat and glanced at the menu, a finger to her lips in thought.

Kakashi sat beside her and didn't hesitate. "Miso ramen, onegai."

Sakura glanced at him thoughtfully and then turned back to the menu. "I'll have the same," she smiled, finally coming to a decision.

"Yosh! Right away," Teuchi said and he and Ayame got to work.

"So, when is your next mission, Kakashi-sempai?"

"Not for a while," he lied. She didn't need to know about his mission to watch over her. "Tsunade-sama has decided to give me a break for a while."

"That's great!" she beamed.

"Aa."

"Here are your meals," Teuchi said, placing the bowls in front of them.

"Looks delicious! Itadakimasu," Sakura said enthusiastically.

"Itadakimasu," Kakashi said peacefully.

They ate in comfortable silence, both happy to be eating with the other. The stars were just starting to come out and a gibbous moon hung loftily in the sky, illuminating the streets of Konoha. Kakashi was afraid he would have to scarf down his food again to prevent Sakura from seeing his face, just to keep up the game, but Sakura respectfully kept her eyes averted while they ate. _'She really has matured.'_ They finished, said their thanks, paid and left. Kakashi wanted to walk Sakura home, but she politely declined.

"It's not that far away, Kakashi-sempai. And the moon is out. I doubt anything will happen on the way. You should go home right away. You look horrible! Hospitals really don't agree with you, do they?"

"Not at all," he sighed. "Are you sure you'll be fine? I don't want to hear anything about you getting mugged or raped in a dark alley tomorrow."

"I can take care of anything like that, sempai. You worry too much. I guess I'll see you…"

She cut off the ending with a lost looking expression. The truth was that she didn't know when she would see him next. The thought made her kind of…sad.

"Soon," he supplied.

She looked up at him with a happy, hopeful face. He couldn't help but smile and once again reach out to ruffle her hair. Then he was gone in a puff of smoke before she could even glare or pout.

Sakura shook her head at his antics with a smile. She headed home on this wonderful, moon filled night.

* * *

It was Saturday today. Sakura rose with the sun, as usual on days after she hadn't worked a shift at the hospital. She got up, dressed, and headed for the kitchen to make breakfast, where she came upon a now familiar, but still unsettling sight. Kakashi was sitting at her kitchen table, knife and fork at the ready, and a drop cloth hanging from his neck for good measure. It had been like this everyday since her run in with him at the hospital. He had come over the morning after and she had made waffles for the two. She was beginning to believe the old saying that if you feed a stray, it will never go away.

"Ohayou, Kakashi-sempai," she greeted unenthusiastically.

He had scared the pink off of her the first time, but then he had had a scare as well. It turns out that he didn't like her little alarm jutsu anymore than Genma had. Luckily, he was a sharingan user and was able to spot the genjutsu right away, not to mention Sakura was awake to dispel it when she heard his anguished scream. That first morning was spent with her explaining the finer points (as if there were any other points she had sneered to herself) of the jutsu to him while making them breakfast. When she gave him a list of all the people who were in the system, namely Lee, Gaara, Neji, Kiba, and Akamaru so far, he demanded to be added right then and there (probably feeling insulted over a dog making the list before he did she had rolled her eyes), almost making her burn the first batch of waffles while she rectified the apparently unbearable atrocity. The first batch wasn't burned, to her later chagrin, and he instantly fell in love with her cooking. He had been back every morning since then, demanding waffles or some other masterpiece from her. Some days, all she wanted was to pour herself a bowl of cereal and leave it at that, but the Copy Nin had other ideas. Sometimes, good cooking was a curse.

"Ohayou, Sakura-chan," he replied sweetly.

'**_He just wants your waffles, girl. Don't fall for that sweet talk!'_** Inner Sakura warned. Sakura mentally nodded in agreement.

"Kakashi-sempai, how long have you been here?" she asked, making her way around to the refrigerator. She decided that she would like another foreign dish today, breakfast tacos.

"Only for about five minutes," he said eagerly. "I wanted to be sure not to miss you."

Sakura sighed. "How do breakfast tacos sound to you?"

"I'm up for anything if you're cooking," he tried to sweet talk.

"Flattery with ulterior motives gets people through holes in the wall, Kakashi-sempai."

"It's not flattery! It's praise," he smiled.

Sakura just sighed, not believing a word he said and started breakfast. Kakashi came up to stand behind her, thankfully leaving the drop cloth and silverware at the table. He leaned down, wrapped his arms around her shoulders and started to rub his head against her head as if he really were a dog.

"Don't be like that, Sakura-chan," he whined.

"Get off, baka-hentai," she said, hitting him with the spatula. He stopped rubbing his head against her, but merely settled for resting his chin on her shoulder and watched her cook.

Sakura had learned about this side of Kakashi the second morning. The Copy Nin seemed to be extremely affectionate in the mornings. It was a humongous difference from the 'touch me and I'll hurt you' Kakashi Sakura had come to know and love. However, she was now comfortable enough with it to simply lean her head to rest on his with a drowsy sigh. He only smiled at her actions.

Once breakfast was almost done, he moved to the cabinet to get some plates (he already knew where she kept things in the kitchen for Kami-sama's sake) and set the table. Sakura then dished out the food and the two sat to eat their meal. They ate in pleasant silence until Kakashi noticed Sakura staring out the window with glazed eyes and pensive expression.

"Something on your mind, Sakura-chan?"

"Hm? Oh. Nothing really. Just thinking about what I'm going to do today. By the way, I'm working late today, so I'm going to sleep in tomorrow."

"You're working late again?"

"Yep," she smiled.

"You need to learn to relax, Sakura," he said seriously, pointing his half eaten taco at her, which made some of the contents spill out.

"I do relax," she defended. "I'm relaxing right now."

"This doesn't count, Sakura."

"Then what the hell does count?" she demanded.

"Reading, listening to music, doing something fun that's not work-related," he said, motioning over to her coffee table, which was littered with medical ninjutsu scrolls and reference materials.

"Work can be fun, Kakashi-sempai," she countered.

"At your age, it shouldn't be."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"When was the last time you went out with Ino?"

"Um, a while ago, I guess," she responded automatically, a little thrown off by the sudden change in topic. "Why?"

"When was the last time you went out with any of your friends?"

"Um," she stalled, shifting nervously, "I don't know."

"Exactly," he finished, turning away to hide his face as he finished the last of his taco. Now for seconds.

Sakura looked down. She knew Kakashi was right, but it wasn't as if she had the time to stop and relax. She was trying to get stronger, and that took time. And she had her first training session with Ibiki-sensei tonight. She was just too busy to do anything like what Kakashi was suggesting. She snapped out of her daze when she felt a hand ruffle her hair.

"If you were going to worry about it, I wouldn't have brought it up," he chuckled. He really should have known better.

"Well, since you're eating my food," she responded, trying to hide her thoughts, "I think you should do the dishes. I'm off to work. Ja ne, Kakashi-sempai."

She left her dirty dishes in the sink and the man eating at her table and bounded out her own front door, locking it behind her.

Kakashi sighed. _'She calls me Kaka-sempai in her dreams, but Kakashi-sempai while awake. It seems I'm still not on the best of terms with her still.' _He glanced in the direction of where he had heard the lock snap into place and chuckled. _'Even though she knows me so well.' _

He finished eating, set the dishes in the sink, washed said dishes, and then left through her window.

* * *

"I need two grams of Ex-ite 2 in here, please," Sakura yelled out to the nurse standing in the hallway.

"Right away, Sakura-sensei!" the nurse called, running off to find the drug Sakura had indicated.

"Sakura-sensei?" her patient wondered.

"What's so wrong with Sakura-sensei? I seem to recall you were Shikamaru-sensei well before I was," she defended.

"I just didn't think the job suited you," the number one lazy ninja hassled. "You were always too violent and short-tempered."

Sakura raised a threatening fist, daring him to make her any angrier. "You're one to talk, Shikamaru-kun. You probably just stare out the window the whole time you're in the classroom and don't really teach the kids anything."

"Hm," he responded, turning his face away. "I have nothing to prove to you."

Sakura just sighed. She'd dealt with Shikamaru enough to know that you had to ignore his infuriating attitude or else drive yourself crazy. Besides, she kind of felt bad for him. She knew being restrained like he was really cut into his male pride.

"Did you honestly have to pick another fight with Kankurou-kun?"

"I didn't pick a fight. He just started attacking me. And this is all your fault anyway!" he sulked.

"How is you losing the fight and getting poisoned my fault?"

"You're the one who made him the damned poison! Did you have to make something so troublesome?"

"Well, it's better than the stuff he used to train with," she defended. "The old stuff used to knock you out for days and deteriorated stamina for a week after that. The new stuff is much more practical." She nodded her head in agreement to what she just said.

"How is twitching around like some shock-treated madman more practical?"

Shikamaru's entire body was currently sporadically and involuntarily twitching and convulsing from the neck down, hence the numerous leather restraints binding his body to the bed.

"Well, this is more practical because it can be cured very easily with an antidote that can be made easily using very little ingredients. The twitching allows for a negative reinforcement to getting hit by any poisonous darts, reinforcing an instinct to dodge. Also, because the muscles are worked out during the twitching and convulsing, the victim gets a full body workout comparable to a whole day of taijutsu training. It's a win-win situation, even if the victim does feel like hell the next day," she smiled proudly.

"Jeez, do you have to sound so detached? This isn't just any victim here; it's me!"

"Hm?" Sakura said, looking at the patient in puzzlement. Then her look turned devious. "Aw, is poor Shika-kun desperate for attention from his pretty, sexy doctor?"

"Yes, I am. You haven't seen her around by any chance?"

Sakura smiled cattishly. "Yes, I did, actually. She was hiding in a closet and said she didn't want to be anywhere near such a scary looking face! It was all I could do to get her to come out," she shrugged in mock helplessness.

"Hag!"

"Horror-face!"

"Scary onna!"

"Plain-looking man!"

"Competent medic!"

"Excellent strategist!"

"Let's stop!"

"Okay!"

Then they both started laughing, even though one was still twitching. The nurse from before entered the room and stood hesitantly waiting for their laughter to stop.

"Um, Sakura-sensei," the girl said meekly, even though she was three years Sakura's senior, "I have the medicine you requested."

The nurse handed over the tray that held a small vile of clear liquid and a syringe. Sakura took the tray and wiped the wetness of laughing from her eyes. "Arigatou, Hana-chan. That will be all."

"Hai." The girl bowed and left the room. Sakura filled the syringe and deftly stuck it into Shikamaru's arm. She quickly injected all of the fluid.

"So what made Kankurou-kun want to fight you this time?"

"All I did was talk to her," he sulked.

Sakura chuckled and took his vitals as the medicine took effect and the twitching stopped. "Who knew Kankurou-kun was such a protective brother, ne?"

"It makes it all so troublesome," he said with a sigh.

Sakura gave a nod at his stable condition and removed the restraints. Shikamaru sat up with a relieved sigh, rubbing his wrists experimentally. All the twitching was gone.

"You're going to pee green for a while, but other than that, you'll be fine," Sakura smiled. Just then, she felt another's presence in the room and some sand rubbed its way up her leg, settling in a ring, skin tight, near her mid-thigh. Sakura turned to greet the visitor.

"Ohayou, Gaara-sama," she smiled sweetly.

"Will he be alright?" he asked gruffly, unblinking and as intimidating as ever.

"Of course he'll be alright. That poison is my design! I would hope that I could cure it as well. Really, Gaara-sama, you must have so little faith in me to even come down and check on him," she teased. Gaara glanced at her then turned to Shikamaru.

"Kazekage-sama," Shikamaru greeted with a bow of his head.

"I hope you are recovered, shinobi, and do not begrudge Kankurou."

"I'm well, kazekage-sama. Sakura-chan is really a fine medic. As for, Kankurou, I can't really blame him for protecting his sister, even if there wasn't even really a threat," he said hesitantly. Sakura may be fine with Gaara, but he still scared the shit out of Shikamaru. "If that's all?"

Gaara gave a nod.

"Then I'll see you later, Sakura-chan. Kazekage-sama." Shikamaru bowed deep and left the room.

Sakura walked over to the end of the bed and finished filling out Shikamaru's medical charts. Gaara stared at her expectantly as she did so. "I was wondering when you would turn up," she informed him. "Truthfully, Gaara-sama, I was expecting you sooner."

"I've told you to call me Gaara, Sakura. You know the honorific bothers me."

"I know, Gaara-sama, but it's a sign of my affection," she smiled at him.

Gaara gave a nod and looked off to the side, what seemed to be the faintest of blushes tinting his cheeks.

Sakura crossed her last T and put the charts in the out folder. The nurse would pick it up later.

"So," she began, sitting at the foot of the bed and motioning for him to take the top. "Another diplomatic mission to Konoha, huh? How long will you be staying?"

"Three days. Suna needs its kazekage."

"I would imagine they're practically running around in circles with all three of you here," she giggled, relaxing against the wall. She hadn't been as comfortable around Gaara years ago. In fact, she had been afraid of him. But Naruto had made good friends with him and any friend of Naruto's soon became a friend of Sakura's. "Let me guess, Temari-chan had to have a vacation and the beautiful forests of Konoha seemed like just the place."

"As well as the many hot springs."

"Yeah, we can't forget the hot springs," Sakura giggled. "So you'll be staying at my place again, right? I won't be back till tomorrow early next morning, but you're welcome to make yourself at home. You're in the system, so that won't be a problem. I have some special training with Ibiki-san later today," she said with excitement.

"Are you not working here today?" he asked with a slight ring of curiosity in his usual flat tone.

"I'm on light duty at the moment because of today's training. Truthfully, I'm not even supposed to be here today," she said guiltily. "But I have time to kill until tonight and this seemed like the best way to spend it. That's the reason everyone's not practically tackling me with cases. Today, I only take the patients I feel like taking. That's why I get to sit here and talk to you like this, Gaara-sama," she smiled brightly.

"Aa."

"Aa?" she repeated, twisting her head questioningly. "Is that all you have to say to that?" she teased.

"Aa," he smirked.

Sakura smiled, already knowing that answer. "Hey, Gaara-sama, are you free this afternoon? Kakashi-sempai's been on my case about not spending enough time with my friends and 'having fun.' I was thinking maybe we could go out for some dango later, and maybe even do a little souvenir shopping. We didn't even get you a souvenir the last time you were here, now that I think about it."

"Dango sounds good."

"No souvenirs?" she pouted.

"I already have fifteen. My room looks more Konoha than Suna now."

"But, Gaara-sama," she whined. "It's tradition. One for every time you've visited. It's not like you're paying for them anyway. Onegai," she pleaded, giving big, puppy-dog eyes.

"Fine," he conceded, closing his eyes.

"Yay!" Sakura yelled, throwing her hands up in celebration. "Then I'll see you later today, Gaara-sama."

Gaara nodded and she got up from the bed and left the room, waving as she left.

Gaara watched after her until he couldn't feel her presence anymore. He smiled a little and shyly looked down at the bed he was still sitting on, happily awaiting the afternoon. A lunch date with a friend.

After a while, he got up to return to his meeting with the hokage, still smiling.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Gaara asked her.

"Just let me wash up and then we can go," Sakura said, wearing gloves spotted in blood. She peeled them off and scrubbed her hands. It was just a simple stitching and the patient would heal nicely within the week. There was no reason to waste chakra on such a trifle. The sand around her thigh gave an impatient twitch and she smiled.

"Alright, I'm finished. I didn't know you were so anxious about this, Gaara-sama," she teased. He huffed at her and started walking away. She ran to catch up.

They made it to the lobby, where three trauma nurses and the receptionist waited for the next critical case to come in. They stopped gossiping when they saw Sakura, or more importantly, her companion. They stood in silent awe as the two passed by and out the door, one waving goodbye.

"Was that the kazekage?" one asked.

"Yeah, it was," said another

"With Sakura-sempai," the last breathed.

The receptionist was already calling Shizune to relay this new information.

Sakura and Gaara paid them no mind.

"Let's try Dan-aa-go-go. I hear it's got really great dango," she said, leading him to the market district. Gaara nodded.

"How's Suna?"

"It would be better if you were there."

"Are you still short on medics?" she asked, concerned.

"Aa. The ones we have now are competent, thanks to you, but we still lack numbers."

"Why don't you petition for help? I'm sure Tsunade-sama would be willing to set up some type of medic-nin sharing system."

"Aa. That's why I'm here. The plan is being finalized. How did you know about it?" he asked with as much curiosity on his face as Gaara's emotionless stare could carry.

"Well, I didn't. It just seemed like the most logical thing to do to increase experience for both sides of medic-nin. I learned a lot working in Suna," she smiled at him. "Because our climates are so different, there are illnesses in Suna that aren't common in Konoha and vice versa. It was great practice learning about illnesses I wouldn't normally have the opportunity to work on."

"I see," he nodded. "I'm trying to get you in the exchange."

"Oh? Did you miss me Gaara-sama?" she teased.

"You're the only one besides Temari and Kankurou that isn't afraid to tease me."

"You didn't answer the question," she pointed out.

He ignored her. Sakura sighed. When Gaara didn't want to answer something, he just didn't answer. Although it bothered the hell out of her sometimes, it was one of the reasons she respected him so much. He didn't do things just because he felt that protocol called for it. Although, he probably didn't have a firm grasp on protocol to begin with. Sakura smiled.

"Is that the shop?" Gaara questioned, pointing to a restaurant they were about to walk right past.

"Yeah, that's it," she confirmed, making a sharp turn to enter the stand.

They ordered and sat down.

"So, will you answer my question if I ask it again?"

Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow.

"So, how do you like Konoha, Gaara-sama?"

Gaara glared at her. Every time he came to Konoha she asked this question and he never answered. He sighed softly and gave in.

"It's nice," he conceded.

"How so?" she grinned cattily, pleased to have finally gotten him to open up.

"No fan girls."

Sakura looked on in a moment of confusion, not sure if he had made a joke or not, then decided it didn't really matter if it was meant as a joke and belted out laughter. Gaara smiled slightly as he watched her gripping her stomach and trying to contain her laughter.

This was how he and Sakura had become friends. His dry, sarcastic sense of humor always appealed to her somehow.

"Do you remember, that Valentine's Day that I was in Suna?" she asked giggling at the memory after she had finally gotten control of herself.

"How could I forget?" he said wryly.

"Four pounds of chocolate, hundreds of cards, and one cute little teddy bear if I remember correctly."

"I try to forget."

"And you went ballistic when the fruit basket showed up."

"I only crushed it into oblivion. That's not going ballistic."

"And after that, you popped the head off the bear, just to be spiteful. I liked that bear, Gaara-sama! I was so sad when you killed it."

"I got you a better one for White Day," he reminded, trying to curtail further whining. He had, too. A big, cuddly panda that she still treasured.

"Okay, you got me another one, but did you really have to ruin that one, as funny as it was."

"It had a listening device and camera implanted in it. I was sending a message to the baka who thought he would disguise an attempt to spy with Valentine's gifts."

"No, no, Gaara-sama. The bug was the product of female infatuation. They just wanted a deeper insight into the life of the hunky Gaara-sama. The fan girls are starting to go high tech," she nodded sagely.

"Kami, help us all," he said.

Their food was done by this time, and the waiter placed their meal in front of them.

"Itadakimasu," they both said and ate until they were full, chatting in between mouthfuls.

"So, are you having to beat the boys with a stick to keep them away from Temari-chan?" she asked, laughing at the mental image.

"She does that well enough on her own. And Kankurou always picks up any slack."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," she said around a small mouthful. She swallowed and then kept talking. "Hey, did you ever find my katana? The one I lost in your room?"

"Aa. I brought it with me. It's in your apartment."

"Shannaro," she beamed. "That's my favorite katana."

"Then why did you forget it?"

"Ano, because I'm a ditz?"

Gaara nodded.

"You don't have to agree, you know."

He nodded again, more intent on getting the sweet dango in his mouth than listening to her.

"You're not even listening to me anymore, are you?"

He shook his head.

They finished their dango and left the stand.

"That was pretty good. Ne, Gaara-sama?"

Gaara nodded, but then noticed they were being watched. He knew Sakura didn't notice, but he could feel a glare trying to bore a hole through his skull. He turned his head to spy the infamous Copy-nin give him a disdainful look before the man disappeared altogether. No wonder Sakura had not sensed anything if it was Kakashi keeping an eye on them. Did Konoha not trust him, the Kazekage? No, it was the shinobi playing concerned protector. Or was there more to it than that? Either way, it didn't sit well with Gaara. He dismissed the occurrence and turned his attention back to Sakura to find she had been talking.

"…and I was thinking we could get you an umbrella this time. That'll make a great souvenir! Your sand would never get wet again! Because wet sand is sticky sand and no one likes sticky sand," she concluded.

"You got me an umbrella already. It was my fourth souvenir."

"It was? Wow. There have been so many, I can't keep track. Well, what would you like?"

Gaara just looked her straight in the eye. Sakura knew him well enough to know that no answer was forthcoming. He didn't know what he would like.

"Well, let's still go to Hachi-Ko. They're supposed to have lots of neat stuff and I could use some more of their specialty tea."

Gaara nodded and followed her to the store across the way. Sakura flitted around, showing him lots of different wares: a cute teapot, a tea cup in the shape of a cow, a fan, a fancy kunai, potted plants, various shirts, even a new pair of green sandals. Gaara stood at the front and shook his head at everything she brought him. Then he spied something near the cashier. It was a full-sized, airbrushed wall poster of none other than Sakura herself, in a sultry red bikini no less. Gaara walked over to it just as she was bringing him a pair of sunglasses with a built in pinwheel. Sakura nearly dropped the ridiculous shades when she saw what he was looking at. He gave her a questioning look. She fidgeted and blushed.

"It was a mission, I swear! Tsunade-sama gave me the mission to get Jiraiya-hentai off her back for a while, so I asked what I could do to get him to stop asking her out. He said he would stop if I posed for a few drawings. I made him swear he wouldn't print any of them though. I was totally betrayed!" she defended. Gaara chuckled at her worked-up state and handed her the poster. She looked at it in confusion and then back up at him.

"This is what I want."

"Gaara-sama!" she pleaded, red as a cherry.

Gaara just smirked and pointed to the cashier.

"You're so cruel, Gaara-sama," she sulked. She took the poster up to the cashier to pay.

"Ah, the limited edition Icha Icha Sakura Wall Hang," admired the cashier. "Very nice. One of the best ones in my opinion. Oh!" He had finally stopped gaping at the picture to look at the customer. He looked back and forth between the poster and the girl in front of him numerous times to be sure he was seeing true.

"Ah! Sakura-san! It's an honor to meet you!" he gushed. "But you get to look at that pretty face in the mirror every day. Why would you need a poster?"

"It's not for me," she said, fully depressed. "It's a souvenir for a friend," she said, pointing at Gaara.

"Oh, I see," he smirked knowingly. Sakura was pretty sure the guy wouldn't be able to see a hand in front of his face. She didn't really care about his opinion, so she let the implication slide.

"How much?"

"Two ryou," he said happily. Sakura sighed again and dug into the bottom of her purse. The cost didn't matter if it was for Gaara. Although, she never would have thought that a picture of her would be worth so much.

"And one box of your specialty brand jasmine tea, please," she added to the tally. She paid the overenthusiastic cashier and handed Gaara his stupid poster.

"Hn. You should autograph it."

Sakura glared.

"Later," she said, pulling him out of the store with the cashier no hentai who was nodding emphatically at Gaara's suggestion. "Just for that, we're going shopping!"

'_Damn.' _Gaara had not been looking forward to the pitfall that was her wrath. She held onto his hand the whole time, pulling him through the crowd and making sure that he didn't run away. He supposed that he could always use substitution jutsu, but she would get him back later. Somehow, someway, she always managed to get him back no matter what he tried. If he wasn't the kazekage, he would sigh.

Sakura spotted an ice cream stand just as Gaara spotted Kakashi slinking around in the shadows. "Gaara-sama, we have to get some ice cream!"

She pulled him by the hand to the small stand on the side of the street. Gaara could feel the murderous intent pouring off the Copy-nin even though he couldn't pinpoint his current location. He put in his order after Sakura, still cupping her hand. The burning on the back of his neck from Kakashi's glare was getting really annoying.

'_Let's see how far his feelings go,'_ he thought deviously as he came up with a most devilish scheme. He scooped a heap of nuts onto his ice cream. Sakura continued to chat idly as she licked at hers. Her reaction was pivotal to the success of his plan, but he felt he knew her well enough to pull it off. He smirked evilly as he proceeded with his mischief. He spooned out a large amount of ice cream and popped it into his mouth.

He swallowed and then grabbed his throat as if he were choking. He made a few fake rasping sounds trying to catch Sakura's attention.

"Gaara? You okay?" she asked concerned.

He fell to the ground in a presumed state of unconsciousness holding on to his neck in the universal sign for choking. Sakura freaked out.

"Kami-sama, Gaara!" She was at his side instantly. She moved his hands out of the way. "There's nothing in your throat. What's wrong?"

By now they had drawn a crowd and Sakura looked around frantically trying to find the cause of Gaara's sudden lack of air. An enemy nin attack? Then she spied his ice cream.

"Oh Kami-sama! Gaara's allergic to nuts! His throat is swollen and he can't breathe! You!" she exclaimed, pointing at some random member of the crowd. "Get me some Benadryll, stat!" Gaara laughed in his head at her assumptions. He wasn't allergic to anything, including nuts.

She then attended to Gaara. He still wasn't breathing, so she moved his limp form in the position for mouth to mouth resuscitation. She opened his mouth and pinched his nose.

From the shadows, the thought that mouth to mouth was _not_ kissing was chanted in the mind of a man that looked ready to pounce.

"Stay with me, Gaara! You can't die on me!"

She brought her mouth down on top of his and breathed into him.

Gaara quickly snaked his hand into her hair and pushed her into a very intimate kiss. Gaara smirked at the girl that was too shocked to respond to the foreign tongue in her mouth and enjoyed her taste for a few, all too brief seconds.

"Gaara!" she exclaimed when he finally let her go. He pulled both of them up as the male half of the crowd cheered and the female half just looked on with disdainful features. Then Gaara found he was on the floor again from a punch that was too fast for his sand to block. He glared up at a livid broomstick-head as he rubbed his sore jaw.

"Gaara! Are you all right?" she asked, looking around her former _teacher_, for Kami's sake.

Gaara smirked as he looked her in the eyes and licked his lips, where he could still taste her. "Just fine," he said huskily. Sakura hated his mischievous side sometimes.

Kakashi stepped into his line of vision he glared at the man. The crowd was now electrified, expecting a fight with all the melodrama hanging in the air.

"Kakashi-sempai!" she scolded as she slapped Kakashi's back, oblivious to the tension. "What the hell did you do that for?"

"Anyone who takes advantage of my teammates will suffer," he stated darkly, never taking his eyes off of Gaara.

"Baka-sempai! He didn't mean anything by it," she said as she walked around him and held her hand out to Gaara. He accepted her offered and she pulled him up. "He was just doing it to get a reaction from you. Which is worse than the first time you pulled something like that," she scolded Gaara in turn, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"He's done this before?" Kakashi shouted in outrage.

"Don't even get me started about what _you_ have done before, Kakashi-_sempai_. Is your new hobby to spy on me or something? We haven't seen each in over six months! I don't think you have any room to talk!"

Kakashi was hurt. Mostly because what she said was true. He had taken the one close friend he had left for granted and now it seems that he had lost her. By no one's doing other than his own.

Sakura gasped at the sorrow in his eyes and instantly regretted her words. What was wrong with her? She had never spoken to him like that before. What was she thinking?

"I…I…" She couldn't say she didn't mean it, because she had, but she didn't want him to be hurt by her words. The crowd broke into applause, thinking the play was over now that both men had been scolded. She looked around at them in a panic, almost wanting to shout that there was nothing to clap for because one of her dear friends was hurting and it was all her fault. The crowd dispersed and she tried to make up for what she had said.

"Kakashi-sensei, I…"

"No, Sakura-chan. You're right. I neglected you. And I have no place to talk, but from now on, I'm making it my place! Starting with forbidding you to be romantically involved with Sabaku no Gaara!"

He walked up to her and pushed her behind his back, guarding her with his life. Gaara just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

Sakura couldn't believe what she just heard. "Is that what you think? Baka-sempai, we're just friends," she informed while staring at the back of his head.

"Friends don't kiss like that, Sakura-chan."

"Um, about that…" she blushed and started to twiddle her index fingers. Kakashi turned his head to look at her strange behavior.

"Well, you see Gaara has this thing for sweets and…um…well…"

"She's the sweetest thing you'll ever taste," Gaara supplied. "Sweeter than even dango and twice as addictive." He held up to fingers nonchalantly. Whether he meant twice as sweet or victory only Gaara knew.

Sakura was practically glowing red now. "Gaara!"

"And just how did you come to find this out?" he glared at Gaara.

"It's all Temari-chan's fault!" Sakura blurted. "We were training one day and she just had to attack at just the right moment. The wind sent me flying, straight into Gaara-sama! What are the chances? Slim to none, that's what! Temari-chan was trying to get me to hit Gaara-sama. Her plan worked a little too well," she sighed, shoulders slumping with remembrance.

Gaara smirked at the memory. After the first initial contact when Sakura's momentum sent the two into the nearest boulder, he had gone wild trying to get a lock on her lips to get at that wonderful taste that could only be Sakura. She forbade him from doing it again. He had hated that she was a guest shinobi and that he couldn't just order her to make out with him at that moment. He still thought that would have been so much easier than faking an allergic reaction. Why couldn't she have been born in Suna?

Kakashi filled in the blanks from Gaara's smirk. He supposed there was nothing he could do about it if Sakura thought the two were just friends, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Sakura was still blushing, so he pinched her cheek.

"Ite, Kakashi-sempai, that hurts!"

He let go and the only red left on her face was from him. He smiled and ruffled her hair. She glared at him as Gaara watched the whole thing with an emotionless stare.

"Are we still going shopping or can I leave?" he asked impatiently.

"No way are you getting out of this, mister! We're going shopping whether you like it or not!" she said, brandishing sharp fangs that seemed to grow instantaneously. Scary, no matter how you looked at it.

"Sorry, Kakashi-sempai," she said strolling over to Gaara and taking hold on his hand, pulling him away to her favorite book store. "There's shopping to do!"

She raised her fist in a "blazing the trail of glory" motion and was soon down the street.

"And stop following me!" she threw over her shoulder, much to Kakashi's chagrin.

He was impressed that she had been able to sense him. He guessed he would have to step up his sneaking skills a notch. He still had a mission to complete, after all.

* * *

"Sakura, this is enough."

"What do you mean? You're only holding two bags!"

Gaara was indeed holding only two bags, but he glanced behind him. His sand was pulling along a veritable mountain of purchases behind the two. The general passersby were giving them strange looks. Apparently this was weird even for a shinobi village. He didn't think one girl could buy so much. She was a true shopper though. For all that she had bought, she had only spent thirty ryou. He was impressed by her thrift.

"Let's go home," he pleaded in monotone.

"Fine," she said. It was only five o'clock and she had time to kill until her training with Ibiki-san. "So what do you want to do when we get there?"

'_What to say? I want to play spin the bottle? Watch you model all the new underwear you bought when you thought I wasn't looking? You give me one of those massages you always give the Hyuuga?' _Gaara's mind and hormones ran rampant. Sometimes he wondered if Shukaku's subconscious wasn't leaking into his brain.

"Tea with a game of shogi?" he asked, sticking with something that wouldn't get her mad at him.

"Great! And afterward, we could play poker! Tsunade's really turned me on to the game."

"Strip poker?" he asked hopefully, half joking and half serious.

Sakura just laughed, ignoring the serious side. "No, not strip poker. High stakes poker!" She waved several large notes in his face.

He smirked. Tonight he was going to get a lot richer. Maybe once he won all her money, he could get her to wager her clothes. Or kisses. Yes, kisses would be much better.

* * *

"Yosh, Gaara-sama! Pay up!" she demanded, holding out her hand expectantly. He sighed and gave her his last ryou. Twenty hands of poker and he had lost every single one. The world was cruel. No Sakura kisses for Gaara.

Sakura glanced at the clock. Eight thirty-seven. She had to go.

"Well, Gaara-sama, I have training."

She hurriedly picked up the mess on her coffee table while Gaara just sat there.

"There's food in the fridge if you get hungry and there's some left over pasta salad in the blue bowl. You know which room is yours and I'll be back at two in the morning. Try not to make a mess, please," she pleaded. She was now at the window, ready to bound away. Gaara got up to say goodbye and smirked. The band of sand around Sakura's thigh lifted her upside down in front of him and she gave a yell.

"Gaara!"

He brought her up to face level, her feet almost touching the ceiling. "Just a goodbye kiss," he pouted, giving her puppy-dog eyes. Now where had he learned that trick?

'**_From you, stupid!'_ **Inner Sakura barged in. **_'Stop giving him stuff he can use against us!'_**

'_But isn't he the cutest thing you ever did see?' _she defended.

'**_Absolutely kawaii! We are not strong enough to resist the unimaginable power of Gaara's cuteness! Why!'_**

"Fine," she conceded, just wanting him to stop it with the face.

Gaara wasted no time, threading his fingers in her hair and not even bothering to let her down. Sakura tried to return his kiss chastely, but his tongue was delving into her mouth before she could squeak. Sakura gave his tongue a scolding smack with her own, but this only served to encourage him. Sakura sighed and just let him have his way. She knew he would never go beyond kissing without her permission. Gaara just wasn't that type of guy. She decided to enjoy the ride and tongue wrestled with him for a while until she chanced a glance at the clock. She reached down to push him away. He was still trying to get at her mouth so she had to keep turning her head.

"Gaara…seriously…I have to…go," she said, interrupted each time he managed to land a kiss.

Gaara sighed and pulled back, but didn't let her down. "Is this really alright with you?" She was one of his few friends. He didn't want to push her away.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm actually kind of glad you got my first kiss, Gaara-sama," she smiled softly. "I was so dead set on saving my first kiss for Sasuke, but then he left and I didn't want to kiss anyone. I thought it was some grand thing that you only gave to the person you wanted _that_ way. But you made me realize that a kiss doesn't have to be like that."

He raised a nonexistent eyebrow at her.

"You don't really find me sexually attractive or love me in _that_ way, do you?"

Gaara smiled, barely, and shook his head.

"You just do it because it's funny and kind of fun too, right?"

He nodded. "And you really do taste that good," he smirked.

"Same here," she said, licking her lips.

Gaara chuckled. Sakura smiled radiantly, amazed that she had gotten this good of a reaction out of him. Gaara slowly lowered her to the ground and she was soon on her feet. He smirked and gave her a quick peck before she was out the window and hopping across rooftops to go train.

* * *

On the rooftop across the window, Kakashi seethed. The little sand punk had kissed her again! And this time Sakura had kissed back! Something had to be done! He was going to the hokage, before he decided to rip Gaara a new one and set an example.

He was at the hokage's mansion in five seconds flat. The papers around the room fluttered and Tsunade almost spilled her sake with the backlash of his speed.

"Kakashi! What the hell…"

"They're all after her!" he shouted, swiping her sake bottle and downing a large swallow straight through his mask. He slammed back down, breathing raggedly in frustration. "Neji wants her, Gaara's kissing her brains out, and you should have seen the looks she was getting in the market place! When the hell did she get so damn attractive?"

Tsunade gave Kakashi a cynical look. "The moment she sprouted tits and ass, which are still growing sadly enough. She was fourteen," said the hokage who had been working on getting tipsy before her evening was interrupted. She righteously snagged her sake bottle back and poured herself another cup. "I believe _you_ were on a _five month_ mission. Most of the males leave her alone because they're scared of my or, in some cases, her fists. A fair number still pursue her. Very stupidly, I might add."

"You've got to do something! This can't go on!"

"And just what would you have me do?" she asked nonplussed, taking a generous swallow of her beverage.

"I don't know!" he exclaimed, sitting down in the chair before her and slamming his head down on her desk. "Make a law or something! No male can come within twenty feet of her besides me and Naruto!"

"And if they were bleeding to death," she asked sardonically.

"Let the bastard die!" he yelled callously, apparently at odds with the rest of his gender. Virile male pride was put aside and justifiably spat upon whenever it involved his little kunoichi.

"Why are you getting so worked up over this, Kakashi?"

Here he paused and glared at the table, reluctant to give his answers. He calmed down and slumped in the chair. Silence reigned as Tsunade awaited his answer patiently, swirling her sake retrospectively.

"Because one of them might steal her away from me," he admitted sadly.

"I think Sasuke put a stop to anyone sweeping her off her feet anytime soon, baka. That girl's jaded as all hell when it comes to love. Sad really."

"How can you be so calm about it?"

"Kakashi, I was beating them off of her long before you were in the picture. She's not ignorant to it, I've learned. So take this lesson from me: she can take plenty good care of herself. You should have seen what she did to one poor bastard who thought he could cop a feel. She threw him through _two brick walls_. I had to heal so many broken bones that day," she chuckled sadistically. "It's just a lot of wasted effort to try and keep everyone away for her when she does it just fine herself. Trust me."

Kakashi looked up at her, calm but still doubtful. "What about…"

"You don't have to worry about Gaara. Sakura herself has told me that they kiss just for the novelty of it. She thinks kissing him is funny as hell. There's nothing between them except friendship. As for Neji, he would have to take her to some secluded cottage somewhere and fuck her brains out for her to ever acknowledge he has romantic feelings for her, and he still borders on a simple crush as it is. Sometimes I wish she could find a man she could love. Then she wouldn't be so bent on doing these harmful things just to get strong and match the brat and the traitor."

Kakashi scowled. He hoped she never found such a man and hearing those harsh words about his team didn't improve his mood.

"Don't tell her I said that, though. She'd probably scream at me that the miscreant is only lost and trying to find himself or some other such shit. 'He's not a bad person,' she says. I don't know if she's gotten over him or not."

"She's right, you know. He's not a bad person. She could always tell those things about people."

"When she wasn't too busy listening to her head, you mean. Her heart always did her better." She was just like Tsunade, after all: heart smarter than her head.

"That's dangerous in our profession."

Tsunade gave him a scalding look and smiled. "She's strong enough to make through, though."

Kakashi looked down with a small smile. She always found a way to rise up again whenever something knocked her down. Kakashi thought about his constantly smiling kunoichi.

"How can you even say she's jaded?" he wondered.

"Think about her smile."

He thought.

"Her smiles are always nice and warm," Tsunade continued. "But when she's really joyful, not just that humoring happy, truly joyful, her smile is brighter than the sun."

Kakashi and Tsunade both smiled softly and sadly, knowing those smiles were all too few.

"I suggest you just lay off it for awhile, Kakashi. You haven't been yourself lately. Is everything alright."

"I've just been out of it," he said, running his hand through his hair tiredly. "Seeing her blood always does this."

Tsunade nodded. So he still didn't want to fully admit that she had a strong effect on him. When was the stupid man going to realize he loved the girl? Although, Tsunade wasn't quite sure how he loved her, but she didn't think it was anything inappropriate. There was a niggling feeling at the back of her mind that told her not to let him get too close to her too fast. For what reason, she wasn't sure.

"Go home and get some rest, Copy-nin. You look like you need it."

Kakashi got up lazily from the chair and tiredly left out the same window he had come in. Tsunade shook her head. He hadn't even said thank you for the great advice.

Kakashi made it to his apartment at the jounin complex. All these out of control emotions were simply too much for him. He didn't understand how Sakura did it. He slid into his shuriken print covers, only pausing to strip off his ninja gear, hitai-ate, and mask, and was soon asleep.

* * *

Training with Ibiki was a bitch, Sakura decided. First, it was an introduction to physical torture, which he showed her first hand through a hole in the wall on a couple of trespassing nin that had been caught the other day. Then there was a quick course on the finer points of Ibiki's specialty- mind torture. Since none of the other gakure had a nin quite as skilled as him in that category, Ibiki decided they would start on building a tolerance for physical torture.

He had then cast a genjutsu on her that would allow her to experience different kinds of torture. The first time, Sakura had broken the genjutsu out of pure instinct. Ibiki had praised her for her quick reaction, but had scolded her to not break it the next time and to stay in it as long as she could stand. He had then placed her under the genjutsu again and she let it happen.

It was the worst experience she had ever had in her life, including when Sasuke left. It started out with dental torture, which was unbearably excruciating and had her toes and fingers curling, screaming all the while. But, she was determined to stay in it as long as she could. And then she was drowning. Her first instinct was to fight against whoever was holding her under, but there was no one to fight against. She thought about canceling the genjutsu, but then dismissed the thought. Her lungs were burning and she could taste her own fear, but she was determined to stay in it. Then the water was gone and her limbs were being stretched to the breaking point. She screamed when they actually did break, but the pressure didn't let up. She was sure her legs and arms were about to be torn from their sockets and she couldn't take it anymore. She tried to form the release jutsu, but her hands wouldn't move. She panicked then. She had no way out of the jutsu.

'**_Calm down,'_** Inner Sakura advised, somehow levelheaded throughout the whole ordeal. **_'I know it hurts, but we have to concentrate. You've done the jutsu thousands of times. You don' need the hand signs to focus and direct chakra. You know where it goes. Now do it!'_**

Sakura took two deep breaths and tried to focus through the pain. It took her almost a minute, but she finally got the chakra where it needed to go.

"Kai!" she shouted desperately. And then, she was suddenly staring at the floor of the interrogation room, sweating profusely and breathing hard and deep. She was shaking horribly.

"Nine minutes and fifty-eight seconds," Ibiki had said, no stop watch in sight. "Not bad, but I was expecting a little more from the Hokage's apprentice." His voice held no warmth. It didn't really hold anything. She had looked at him and he let some concern leak into his eyes, the only comfort she would get from him during training. But, Sakura was used to harsh sensei.

"Now do it again," he said. "Cast it on yourself. And this time go fifteen minutes."

Sakura did as she was told, not sure if she could make it _five_. But, she had chosen this path and she would stick to it. She had cast the jutsu and was opened to all kinds of torture, each more excruciating than the next. When she had her guts ripped out of her and was being strangled with them, she had enough.

"Kai," she had screamed, not even needing to concentrate this time. She was lying on the floor this time, not even able to stay on her knees. She was soaked in sweat and gasping for air, shaking all over and patting herself to see if she was intact.

It was an amazing genjutsu to have such real, painful effects, she admired.

"Twenty-two minutes and thirty-seven seconds," Ibiki said. "Well done."

He looked down at the frazzled girl with sympathy and lifted her up to a standing position.

"I think we should move on to a combination of physical and mental torture. Mental for you, but physical for your teammate."

He had then cast a genjutsu on her that showed her horrible images of her friends being tortured just as she had been. But she was too good at genjutsu and couldn't really get into the play. She knew they were all illusions. She broke the genjutsu and told him as much. He said he was afraid that would happen and he guessed they would just have to cross that bridge when they came to it. He then took her to his office and gave her some chamomile tea to calm her nerves- her hands were still shaking.

They sat in silence for a while, Ibiki letting her come to grips with what had just happened. He was surprised when she broke from her staring contest with his filing cabinet and the first words out of her mouth were some modifications to the genjutsu for mental torture that would make it seem more real. He asked her to write it down, and they spent the rest of her training time perfecting the jutsu.

When their time was up, he asked whether she could make it home okay or if he needed to walk her home- her hands were _still_ shaking. She declined and was soon home, cursing her stupid idea to ever start coming up with her own jutsu- her hands _finally _stopped shaking.

Gaara was waiting in the living room for her, playing clock with a deck of cards.

"How was training?" he asked to break the silence between them. Sakura usually broke it, so there was something wrong.

"Crazy," she said. "It's absolutely insane. But then, that fits me perfectly I suppose."

She ran a hand over the tattoo made recently. Gaara could tell that she had been through an ordeal, but would be just fine given time.

"I'm going to bed and I'm not getting up till I've had ten hours of sleep. Goodnight, Gaara."

"Goodnight, Sakura." He'd wait until she was asleep and then listen to her entertaining dream talk.

Sakura walked into her room, dressed for the night and snuggled into her bed, asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

* * *

Kakashi woke up early the next morning. Well, earlier than usual. He was usually up well before the sun. He went about his morning routine like usual. His new habit of heading to Sakura's after visiting the memorial was postponed when he remembered she would be sleeping late today.

He stayed at the memorial with Obito and the others and tried to gather his thoughts. He decided he would start acting more like himself from now on. If Tsunade thought Sakura could take care of herself, maybe she could. He would still be there for her though and there was no way he was giving up her wonderful cooking. He stood there for a while, thinking about Sakura, which led to thoughts of Team 7 and happier days.

The sun was up by the time he was on his way to Sakura's place. _'Hn. Sakura's place,' _he thought, still with wonder. The first day he had decided to check up on her after he had found her at the memorial, he had gone to her parent's house.

Her parents were actually home that day and he was sure they would know of what had happened to Sakura the day before. He was sure they would understand him coming to check up on his little kunoichi. He had been surprised when Sakura's mother had answered the door and immediately scowled when she saw him. He took it in stride and gave her a pleasant greeting.

"What the hell do _you_ want," the woman had snarled, glaring death.

He had said very politely (it was Sakura's mother, after all, even if she was being rather rude) that he was here to see Sakura. He had not expected her reaction.

"The little chit doesn't live here anymore!" she said and promptly slammed the door in Kakashi's face.

He had stared at it in disbelief before scratching the back of his head and leaving the premises. Just where did she live now if not with her parents?

"Apartment 224 in the Oai Complex," said a passerby, apparently reading his mind. He had turned to inspect this citizen with telepathic abilities only to find one Aburame Shino.

"You are looking for Sakura, hai?"

He had nodded his head.

"She moved about a year and a half ago."

"Do you know why?" he had asked, placing his hands in his pockets and taking on his usual slouched disposition.

"She told me once," he had said mysteriously behind those concealing sunglasses.

He had not said anything more and Kakashi thought a prompting was needed when the two just stood across the street from each other for over a minute.

"Aa?"

"Something about making it by herself. Not relying on anyone."

Kakashi had frowned. She had left her childhood home just to prove her own independence? Shino had looked on as Kakashi was lost in his thoughts for a moment and had continued on his way when he knew no further conversation was needed.

"Arigatou, Shino," Kakashi had called when he broke from his thoughts and realized the bug user was already walking away from him.

Shino had raised a lazy hand in acknowledgement of his thanks. Kakashi had left for Sakura's apartment then.

He still worried about her living by herself every now and then. The Oai Complex was infamous for having a high suicide rate, despite the name. He doubted Sakura would be part of that statistic, but he didn't want her getting too attached to any of her neighbors. He felt better when he learned she was the only renter on the second floor, as unbelievable as that was. Most people weren't scrambling to get an apartment in the disreputable complex. He supposed that was why she could afford it.

He was soon in sight of the mahogany roof tiles and beige walls. Those were her windows there, with the bright turquoise curtains. He jumped onto her balcony and entered through the window she never bothered to lock. He came face to face to Sabaku no Gaara, sitting like a king on her couch and listening to her music softly. He had to suppress the growl. He ignored the Shukaku container and made for the hall.

"She's still sleeping," the redhead warned.

He paused and turned to the child.

"Don't wake her," the kazekage ordered. Kakashi hadn't needed to be told. He looked around her living room for some place to sit and wait. He didn't find anything other than the already occupied couch. He decided to move the love seat at his apartment over to Sakura's as soon as he could.

"When did she get home?" he asked, choosing to stand rather than sit next to the irksome Suna shinobi.

"At about one thirty. She won't be up till about nine."

Kakashi nodded. It was only seven in the morning. He had time to move his love seat.

* * *

Sakura woke up feeling like she was run over by a train. She had slept horribly. She glanced at her clock. Eight thirty. Damn. She almost got ten hours. Probably why she felt so horrible right now. She took note of the way the left side of her hair stuck straight up while the right side refused to get out of her eyes. She should probably brush her hair.

Her stomach grumbled. Grooming could wait. She exited her room, for now ignoring the soft creels coming from one of the potted plants, and headed straight across the hall to her living room. In her sleep-hazy mindset, she had to pause to take in the scene before.

One thing at a time. There was Gaara. He was meditating. He was on her couch. Her radio was on. It wasn't loud. There was Kakashi. He was reading his porn. He was on her love seat. She took a few steps into the room, but then paused.

'_Wait a second…'_

"When did I get a love seat?" she asked stupidly.

Gaara cracked open an eye at her just as Kakashi lowered his book. They both snickered at her disheveled appearance. Sakura was too run down to care and made her way to the kitchen, ignoring the both of them. The two followed her, probably expecting her to feed them now. She grabbed a ripe pear from the fruit bowl and a huge steak from the fridge. She then slowly left the kitchen for the hallway, the two hungry men still following her and probably wondering where she was going. Sakura smiled goofily at the thought as she reached her room and shut the door in their faces. She took a bite of pear and almost laughed as she opened the wrapping on the steak.

'_Sorry, guys, but my little Tiger-san comes first,' _she thought, walking over to an extremely large Venus fly trap sitting in the corner next to the door.

Kakashi and Gaara still stared at her door, confused. Kakashi was the first to recover. He knocked on the door lightly.

"Ano, Sakura-chan…"

"Come on in!" she yelled through the door

Kakashi and Gaara looked hesitantly at each other, for the moment, brothers in arms against the unknown that resided within a girl's room. Kakashi opened the door and motioned for Gaara to enter first. Gaara scoffed at Kakashi's cowardice and haughtily walked into the room.

Something grabbed onto his leg. Something with teeth. He gasped and tried to shake the thing off.

"No, Gaara! Don't hurt him!" Sakura yelled. "Stop moving!"

Gaara stopped moving and the thing sunk its teeth in deeper. He whimpered and tried his best to remain still. Kakashi strolled in smugly and watched the amusing scene unfold.

"No, Tiger-san," Sakura scolded what looked like a huge Venus fly trap with black stripes and razor sharp teeth currently embedded in Gaara's leg. "We don't bite guests. Now be a good boy and let go. I've got your dinner right here."

The thing obediently withdrew its bloody fangs and lunged for the steak Sakura had flipped into the air. It swallowed the huge steak in one bite and was then caressing its head against Sakura.

"Yes, you're such a good boy, aren't you?" she cooed. "Such a good watch dog, yes."

Kakashi cleared his throat to get her attention while Gaara glared at the insane girl. Just what the hell was that thing?

"Oh!" she exclaimed, finally giving the two humans in the room some attention. "Kakashi-sempai, Gaara-sama, this is Tiger-sama. Isn't he just the most precious, cutest thing you've ever seen?" she asked, petting the thing on its massive head.

"Ano, Sakura-chan, Tiger-san is what exactly?" Kakashi asked, casting a dubious glance at the thing that under no circumstances could be labeled cute.

"He is an experiment from the Waterfall Country. Some medic-nin from Takigakure decided to experiment with genetic material. As far as I can tell, they combined tiger, orca, and dog DNA into a Venus fly trap. This little guy is the result."

'_Little guy?'_ both men thought, sweating.

"Seems like a weird combination, but they were Taki shinobi, so it's not really surprising. He doesn't eat a lot, surprisingly."

'_So this was the man-eating plant Kotetsu had been raving about,'_ Kakashi concluded, inching as far away from the thing…er Tiger-san, as he could.

"The people at Customs were going to burn him, the poor baby," she fussed. "I guess he got to be too much for the medic-nin to handle and they sent it to Tsunade as an assassination attempt. Too bad they weren't expecting him to try and eat through the crate they shipped him. The poor thing was _so_ under fed. I had to rescue him from Customs," she said lovingly and the thing _purred_ at her.

"Did this 'rescuing' involve a midnight raid by any chance?" Kakashi questioned.

Sakura looked at the floor guiltily as the Tiger trap, as Kakashi was calling it, butted her with its head affectionately.

"You don't understand, Kakashi-sempai! They were just gonna kill him! Sure he kept biting people, but that's just because he was hungry! He's just misunderstood. Please don't tell Tsunade-sama!"

She could tell that Kakashi was seriously considering doing just that. If she had known her pet would get this reaction, she wouldn't have let the two come in.

"Please, Kakashi-sempai," she said, pulling out the puppy-dog eyes. "My parents never let me keep any of my pets. Now's my chance to keep one. He's really sweet once you get to know him! He even sings! See: sing for momma, baby boy," she cooed, taking a peppermint from her desk and waving it in front of the thing's head.

It suddenly let out a keening that was perfectly in tune, singing _Wind_. Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise. Sakura gave the thing the unwrapped peppermint and rubbed his head some more.

"Please," she pleaded.

Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows and ran a hand through his hair. How could he deny her when she looked at him like that?

Sakura was really hoping that Kakashi would let her keep Tiger-san. She loved him and her parents really had thrown all her other pets out, or took them to the hokage to be examined and/or experimented on. There was the fire-breathing lizard (a summoned beast), the purple squirrel (some cruel kid had dyed its fur), the talking rock (a shinobi had done a sealing jutsu improperly), the blue cat (no one was quite sure), the little fish that looked like a…

"Fine," Kakashi conceded. Sakura squealed and gave him a hug, hanging from his neck. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head in the closest thing to embarrassment that the smut reader could feel. He wrapped one arm around her waist so she didn't drag him down. She let go soon afterward and hugged the monstrosity of a plant.

"Misunderstood beast, huh?" he said quietly casting a pointed glance over at the Suna shinobi who had watched the whole thing stoically. He returned Kakashi's glance with a raised non-existent eyebrow. Kakashi shook his head and looked back over at Sakura, who was pouring affection onto the plant. Gaara went to try and make friends with the beast and see if Sakura would heal his leg.

Kakashi glanced around her room. There were plants everywhere: outside her window in a flower box, on top of her huge book case, on her desk, even on the floor. Her carpet was a gray and green mixture. The pictures on her wall were all lithographs in vibrant colors and depicted every environment imaginable in beautiful scenes. She had a calligraphy hanging above her bed, next to the window. "Live a life of love," it said. He smiled. That was just like Sakura. Her bedspread was a lime green with orange whirls, sakura petals, and blue brush strokes in a simple, yet intricate pattern. Her room was full of life, he realized.

He smiled warmly and looked back to her. She was healing Gaara's leg as she instructed him on how to feed the thing the peppermints it seemed to love so much. She looked up at him when she was done, pink hair glowing radiantly in the sunlight and green eyes burning brightly, and gave him a brilliant smile. She gave a glance at the bonding man and monster plant with a nod of approval and made her way over to him.

"Thank you, Kakashi-sempai," she said quietly with deep sincerity.

"Don't worry about it," he said. He started to reach out to ruffle her, but stopped, inexplicably feeling, for the moment, that she should never be touched. He was content to just stand in the light and warmth she gave off.

"I've been thinking of a way to present him to Tsunade-shishou," she said, looking back at her pet with a worried frown. Apparently she had not noticed his actions or thoughts.

"I've been experimenting with the leaves he casts off. They make an excellent muscle-relaxer when they're crushed and added to water, but I wanted to find a better use for them. I've been analyzing the actual chemical make-up to determine if they have any merit as possible medicine, but with all the training I've been doing lately, I haven't had much time. I keep thinking that if he can make some wonder drug, Tsunade-shishou will let me keep him."

"I'm sure that when she sees how much you love the thing, she will let you keep him," he assured. He looked from Tiger-san caressing Gaara's hand to Sakura's hopeful and admiring face.

"You think so?"

"I know so," he smiled, eye crinkling.

Sakura smiled back. "Yosh! Do you two want breakfast now?"

Gaara was by her side instantly, the only indication in his stoic manner that he simply couldn't wait. Kakashi was looking at her hungrily.

"Men and their stomachs," she shrugged. She headed toward the kitchen with two hungry shinobi practically stepping on her heels.

* * *

Kakashi leaned back in his chair, fully satisfied. Another wonderful breakfast made by his little kunoichi especially for him. Well, almost for him. He glared at the tattooed intruder sitting across the table. The Suna shinobi was still eating, savoring every bite of Kakashi's shared breakfast. He hadn't wanted to share any of it, but Sakura had made him. She had made enough to sate his hunger as well as Gaara's, so he couldn't come up with a suitable protest other than he just didn't like the kazekage. Sakura would never let someone go hungry just because Kakashi didn't like the person.

He looked over at Sakura, happily crunching on her simple cereal. He still didn't understand how she could pass up her own cooking. She was flipping through a mail order weapons magazine. She stared longingly at a 300 ryou katana with a red lacquered sheath with dragons engraved and set in gold and a high grade steel blade. She sighed and turned the page glumly. Kakashi chuckled in his head.

He got up from the table, deposited his dirty dishes in the sink and went to sit in Sakura's new love seat for a nice read. He felt comfortable leaving Gaara with Sakura because the only thing separating the living room and the kitchen was a waist high bar on either side of where the doorway would be. He could still keep an eye on them from the top of his book.

"Ooh! Twenty kunai free with a purchase of a set of sixty, only twelve ryou," Sakura commented.

She finished the last bite of her cereal just as Gaara finished his breakfast. She flipped her magazine closed and took her and Gaara's dishes to the sink and quickly washed them all. Gaara watched. When she was done, Sakura went into the living room and sat at her coffee table, rifling through her various medical journals and reference materials to find a well-worn book. Gaara got up and sat on the couch that Sakura was leaning against. He reached for Sakura's still messy pink locks and ran his hands through them, brushing them out. Kakashi watched covertly from behind her book as Gaara proceeded to braid her hair. _'What in the world?'_

"You're going to make it all wavy again, Gaara-sama," Sakura complained.

Gaara said nothing and continued putting her hair into very neat braids. Sakura sighed and returned to her book.

"Doesn't the kazekage have a meeting with the hokage today?" Kakashi asked pointedly. Gaara glanced at the clock. Almost ten. He leaned down next to Sakura. When she didn't look at him, he took hold of her chin and made her face him. He then placed a quick kiss on her lips in answer to her questioning face. He licked her lips and pulled away.

"I'll be back this afternoon," he said and was then gone in a whirlwind of sand.

Sakura looked at the place he had been in stunned silence. She licked her lips to see if he had just done what she thought he did. She tasted cinnamon. Yes, he had.

She turned to look at Kakashi, unsure of what his reaction would be to such affection after his reaction from yesterday. He glared at her reproachfully and she gave him a sheepish smile.

"Are you going to stay in your pajamas all day?" he questioned, leaving his anger for the one responsible.

Sakura looked down at her clothes in interest. "I was thinking about it," she said cheekily.

"Sakura-chan," he addressed.

"Yes, Kakashi-sempai?" she responded sweetly.

"Go put some clothes on," he ordered dryly.

"Fine," she whined.

He smiled at her back as she went to do as he commanded. He turned back to his book, pausing in his reading only a moment when he heard her shower running. When she came back into the living room, she was in her usual attire and toweling her hair. She flopped down on the couch.

"Kakashi-sempai, where did that love seat come from?"

"I noticed your apartment needed more places to sit."

"Kakashi-sempai?"

"Aa?" he asked, half his mind still set on his book and the other half listening to her.

"Why are you still here?"

He looked up from the volume. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you have some place to be? Why are you just hanging around my apartment?"

"I'm off missions. It's comfortable here."

"Oh," she said. She picked up her own book and settled down in her favorite position on the couch and was soon lost in her reading. Kakashi returned to his own book. Every now and then he heard her gasp at some part of the book or saw her face change when she came to particularly emotional scene out of the corner of his eye. He had to suppress a chuckle at her antics. They stayed just reading together comfortably for well over an hour before the wonderful atmosphere was broken by a knock at the door. Kakashi didn't even look up at the interruption, but Sakura got up to answer it. He wished she had ignored the caller as well.

"Neji-kun, Kiba-kun! What happened?" he heard her voice echo down the hall.

"Mission," Kiba growled.

"Neji-kun, get him to the kitchen." He heard her footsteps race off somewhere and the labored steps of the two shinobi as they entered the kitchen. Neji carried a limping Kiba over to the table and tiredly lowered him to a chair.

Kakashi glanced up at the two. Akamaru looked to be fine, but Kiba's ankle was probably broken. His foot was turned almost completely opposite from its rightful position. Neji had a couple of long, razor thin cuts along both arms and his clothing was torn in the same pattern. Kakashi idly wondered what type of weapon caused such wounds. He lazily got up and made his way over to see if Sakura would need any assistance.

"Why aren't you at the hospital?" she scolded, bustling in with a first aid kit and some extra gauze in her hands. She gave Neji's clotted wounds a quick glance and decided Kiba was in more need.

"Triage," Neji said simply.

"The damn receptionist told us to come to you. Some chunin teams had just gotten back from a mission. They were ambushed by those fucking sound nin on their way back to Fire Country. All of 'em were pretty roughed up. Ah!" he yelped when Sakura took hold of his foot gently.

She sighed and took out a syringe and a vial of some clear liquid.

"What's that?" he asked a little worriedly.

"This is some morphine," she said. "I wouldn't normally give you something so strong, but with your tolerance to pain killers, I have to give you _something_ strong."

"I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse that you know my medical history so well," he wriggled.

"Suck it up, Kiba-kun," she scolded, knowing how much he hated getting shots. She injected the liquid and he gave a convulsive shiver. She then placed her hands on his foot again. This time he only hissed. She waited for a moment to let the pain killer take full effect.

"This is going to hurt," she warned. Kiba braced himself. She gave his ankle a sharp twist and reset the bone in its proper place. Kiba screamed. Neji winced.

"Shimatta," Kiba breathed. Sakura put in some chakra to keep down the swelling and placed a cold compress around the fixed ankle. Akamaru sniffed the ankle experimentally and then gave an approving bark to Sakura. "Arigatou, Akamaru-kun," she said.

"Your turn, Neji-kun," she said sweetly, turning to the Hyuuga. He couldn't help but take a step away from her in fear.

Kakashi smiled and pushed him closer to the medic-nin. Sakura attacked his arms with disinfectant. He hissed as she swabbed the substance on generously.

"This really burns," he complained.

"Deal with it," she said, focused on cleaning the wound. Some of the dried blood was being absorbed by the cotton and exposing fresh blood, but that was a good thing. She applied some bandages and wrapped his arms tightly in the gauze.

"You're not even going to heal me?" he asked, expecting a nice chakra treatment.

"It's better if you heal on your own as much as possible," she informed. "Healing with chakra increases the rate at which the new cells die. It can be dangerous if you're healed too frequently with chakra."

Neji looked stoically depressed. She walked over to her cabinets and took out a plastic bag of some sort.

"Cookie for your trouble?" she offered. Kiba accepted ten and Neji even took one. They were Sakura's homemade cookies, after all. Kakashi reached for one but Sakura slapped his hand away.

"Patients only," she scolded, holding the cookies close to her for protection. Kakashi pouted.

"Kiba-kun, I want you to stay off that leg. Neji-kun, you get him whatever he needs," she instructed, taking two cookies for herself and putting the rest back.

"Why do I have to take care of him?" Neji complained.

"Because it's my day off!"

"I thought she worked on Sundays," Kiba muttered to Neji. Neji shrugged.

Sakura walked back into the living room and flopped back down on her couch, soon reading without a care. Kakashi followed her example and their happy atmosphere was soon reestablished.

The three in the kitchen looked on in amazement as the two readers acted as if nothing had happened. But then again, Sakura saw this all the time and it would take Sakura doing a strip tease on his lap to get any surprised reaction out of the Copy-nin. Akamaru wagged his tail and went to sit in Sakura's lap as soon as she sat down.

"Traitor," Kiba mumbled. Neji smirked.

The ninken curled up on her lap and was soon asleep as she petted his fur absentmindedly. The morphine was finally kicking in and Kiba's exhaustion was catching up to him.

"Neji! Spare bedroom!" he ordered.

Neji looked at the Inuzuka disdainfully, but a glance at Sakura's glare told him to obey. He picked up the lame shinobi and carried him to the specified location. He put Kiba down on the bed and stood there for a moment to see if he needed anything else.

"That will be all," the annoying boy said as he made a shooing motion with his hand. Neji didn't need to be told twice. He went back to the living room and sat at Sakura's feet.

"Does his family know where he is?" she asked him. He nodded.

"Does your family know where you are?"

"No and I don't see a need for them to know."

"Fine," she conceded.

"That book again?" he asked, noticing the ragged book in her hands.

"It's my favorite," she defended, cuddling the book to her chest and being careful not to upset Akamaru.

"It's a story of dragons," she said. "The real ones that lived over a thousand years ago."

"Those are just myths, Sakura-chan," Neji corrected.

"Shows what you know," she huffed.

"The dragons were supposed to be a clan of shinobi, weren't they?" Kakashi asked.

"Yep! They had their own kekkei genkai that was said to be the most powerful in the entire shinobi world, with a limitless supply of chakra," she said in admiration. "Sadly, their kekkei genkai's presence became less and less pronounced through the generations. Their numbers grew fewer and fewer until the last one died about five hundred years ago."

"So the story goes," Neji said skeptically.

"It's not a story!" she yelled, waving her book at him angrily. "They were real!"

"What proof is there?"

Sakura didn't say anything, glaring at him spitefully.

"Exactly," he pronounced.

"Why do you believe them to be real, Sakura-chan?" Kakashi asked her.

She looked down shyly. "I don't really remember a lot from when I was little, but for some reason I can remember finding this book and reading it. It seemed so true and real. I asked my mom about them, if they were real or not." She smiled fondly at the memory. "She looked at me so lovingly, set me in her lap, and told me the story of the founder of the clan. It was such a beautiful and tragic story. When the story was over, she told me that the dragons were as real as my pounding heart. She said something is only as real as you make it and if you feel that something is true with all your heart, then it was true. I felt that the dragons were real in the very depth of my feelings. There's no proof for or against, but it's my belief in them that matters. I think it's called faith, Neji-kun."

She smiled nostalgically. "That is one of my best memories."

Both men looked at her with an awed expression. She spoke so passionately and poignantly that they were afraid it wasn't their Sakura-chan anymore.

"But you know," she said conversationally, "I can't really seem to find the story of the founder. I never forgot it, but I can't seem to find a written version anywhere. I have the complete set of this series," she said, raising her book, "but the founder is only mentioned every now and then. I wonder where my mom learned it."

"Hn. She probably just made it up to entertain you," Neji said.

Both men took notice of the sad smile that graced Sakura's face.

"Probably," she admitted.

Kakashi glared at the Hyuuga. Neji instantly regretted his words.

"What was their kekkei genkai?" Kakashi asked Sakura, trying to get her back on a happier subject.

"They weren't called dragons for nothing. They had great big wings made of chakra of all different colors and they could fly on those great wings of theirs. Their eye teeth were described as abnormally large, but that was probably just a family trait."

"Were those wings their source of limitless chakra?"

"You know, the stories never really say. Something tells me that's not what it is though."

"What else could it be?" Neji asked. Kakashi just wanted him to shut his big mouth. He wanted to learn more about Sakura, not listen to Neji try and break down her arguments.

"I don't know. I just read the stories. I don't try to theorize."

"You believe in them so much, but you don't question anything about their nature?" he asked incredulously.

"Faith, Neji-kun."

There was no arguing with her. Neji just sighed exasperatedly and laid his head on the back of the couch. The room was quiet again as the two with books went back to reading and the other just relaxed.

Neji had been just as tired as Kiba apparently because he was soon sleeping. Sakura giggled as he drooled in his sleep. Kakashi shook his head and the two read together for the rest of the afternoon. Kakashi had never been happier.

* * *

Sakura looked up at what seemed to be Kakashi's hundredth snicker within the last hour. He was even blushing from that smutty book. Sakura sighed and put the story about the princess who fell in love with the heir to the Dragon Clan away.

While it seemed like it would be a nice romantic story, this one was actually deliciously disturbing. The heir of the clan, one Akahoushi-san, was actually in love with his third cousin, another dragon, and his only interest was becoming a strong shinobi and taking the clan to higher levels of prosperity. He scorned the princess when she tried to seduce him. They say that hell hath no fury as a woman scorned. The princess definitely lived up to the proverb. She went mad, joined forces with the enemies of the clan, and bent all her will on desperately trying to destroy the clan that meant so much to the man she loved. This volume in the series was devoted entirely to the clan's perseverance in the face of such a terrible foe. The clan survived, but many dragons died in the process, including Akahoushi's first son (the princess killed the baby with her bare hands). It was a shinobi's romance novel. Sakura remembered being very creeped out when she first read it at the age of nine. But somehow, the book managed a wonderful catharsis at the end when the princess dies willingly at the hands of Akahoushi after realizing the horror of the things she did. In the next volume, Akahoushi and his wife (the third cousin) have another son, Akatsuki, who had amazing shinobi potential.

'_Now that's a book,_' Sakura thought.

'**_Shannaro! And so much better than smut,' _**Inner Sakura piped up. **_'We should slap him for even bringing that into our home! I don't care if he can kick our butt from here to Suna! That's just plain rude!'_**

Sakura nodded at her inner self and glanced at the clock, trying her best to ignore the entertained jounin on her new love seat. He was only making her mad. It was two twenty-three. Gaara should be home soon and she needed to start lunch. She carefully removed Akamaru from her lap and set him on the couch. He yawned once, rolled over and was back to sleep in an instant. Sakura thought about waking Neji, but she decided to get a picture of him drooling in his own ear first. She reached for the camera that she kept tucked in the couch cushions for just such an occasion and snapped a photo. Neji was still dead to the world and she decided that she wouldn't wake him after all.

She got up and glanced at Kakashi once more. He was dead to the world as well, but only because he had his nose practically glued to the pornographic pages. She shook her head and retreated to the kitchen.

She opened her fridge to see what she could make today. She was desperately low on groceries, she noted. She would have to take a trip to the store after lunch if she wanted to feed everyone for dinner. She took out everything she needed to make nikujaga, which was about all that she could make with her meager supplies. She set it to cooking once everything was fried and then sat down at her table during the twenty minute waiting period. She grabbed a pen and some paper and wrote her shopping list.

Kakashi walked in, chuckling at his book, and sat across from her. She raised her eyebrow at him questioningly, but didn't really expect a straight answer if she asked him about his actions. So, she simply returned to her shopping list.

"Hm. What else?" she asked aloud, tapping the pen against her bottom lip in thought. "Shrimp will be nice. And leaks, too."

She added both items to her list, which was already of a significant length.

"Cherries and oranges," Kakashi suggested.

"What would I do with cherries and oranges? Besides make fruit salad, which would require pineapples too," she wondered, half her mind listening and the other half checking to see if she missed anything.

"Not for you. For me," he said, judiciously turning the page.

"You want cherries and oranges, buy them for yourself! Since when do _you_ have any authority to tell me what to put on _my_ grocery list?" Honestly, the man had no sense of decency. This was _her_ apartment. He didn't pay the rent. He wasn't even around here that often. Well, he hadn't been, at least.

"Since I started contributing to this apartment," he said calmly, taking the list and pen from her and righteously writing down his two items. Sakura glared at him.

He handed the pen and list back to her. She grabbed them back huffily and frowned at him. She knew she couldn't stand up against him when he was being so illogical, but she still couldn't help retaliating one last time.

"Putting your crap into my apartment doesn't mean you're contributing, Baka-sempai."

"Now, Sakura-chan," he reprimanded, "that's not very nice to say. You might hurt the love seat's feelings."

Sakura smacked her head on the table, knowing she wouldn't win when he was acting this stupid. She sighed and left the two offending items on her shopping list.

The timer went off, making Sakura jump slightly and Neji snort in his sleep in the other room. Lunch was ready. Sakura abandoned the list in favor of fixing everyone's lunch.

Kakashi watched her prepare five plates, her hips swaying gracefully as she kept shifting her weight to carry out the task. Her hair swayed at her neck teasingly. Her strong back muscles and shoulder blades rippled through her shirt. Why was it that whenever she was cooking, he always felt like wrapping his arms around her and never letting go?

She reached down to the cabinets under the counter to fill a bowl of dog food for Akamaru. Kakashi was presented with a nice view of her backside. It worried him. It was no wonder why the men were taking notice of his kunoichi. He didn't like these changes one bit.

From out of nowhere, there was a whirlwind of sand in the middle of Sakura's kitchen. The sand slowly retracted into a large gourd that rested on the back of the kazekage.

"You're just in time, Gaara-sama," she said, handing two plates to the stunned Suna shinobi. He took them out of pure shock, revealed only by a slight widening of his black-rimmed eyes. "Take those to the table, onegai."

He did as he was told only because he was sure one of the plates was for him. Sakura carried over another two, setting one in front of Kakashi and the other next to him. Her table seated eight comfortably, so she would leave the two ends without plates. She went back for the last plate and the bowl of dog food. She set the bowl next to her place and the last plate in her own spot, the one at the very end on this side. A good hostess made sure everyone else was served first. She nodded at her placement and went to wake the rest of the diners.

"I smell food," Kiba said from the hallway entrance, using the wall as a crutch.

"Lunch is ready, Kiba-kun," Sakura smiled. One down and two to go. She went to the living room to wake Neji, but it seemed that Akamaru beat her to it. He took a large chunk out of Neji's shorts and probably a little of Neji's thigh as well by biting him awake.

"Ite!" Neji yelled, jerking awake. Akamaru let go and scurried over to sit at his place at the table. Neji shook the sleep from his head and made a disgusted face when the sensation of slobber in his ear finally hit him. He wiped his ear out and headed over to where he heard chairs scraping the tile and Sakura laughing at his previous disgusted face.

He sat at the only spot left, in between Kakashi and Gaara. He was very uncomfortable to say the least until Sakura sat down as well. Neji glared at the ninken sitting next to her, happily chowing down on his special dog food.

"You should teach your dog not to bite, Kiba," he said, looking forlornly at the hole in his shorts.

"Akamaru was just making sure that you didn't miss this great meal, right pal?" he laughed and Akamaru barked in the positive.

"You know, Kiba-kun, if he gets any bigger he won't fit in that chair anymore," Sakura said thoughtfully. Kiba looked at the dog whose but took up the entire seat of the chair.

"Aw, he's not that big."

"May we eat now," Kakashi asked.

"Of course! Itadakimasu," Sakura said happily. The rest of them gave thanks for the food and dug in. The meal went on rather quietly. The three shinobi sitting on the opposite side of the table were sulking because a dog had received the honor of sitting on the right side of the hostess over them.

Sakura finished first, but waited for them all to finish before taking their plates to the sink. No one saw Kakashi remove his mask, but somehow all his food disappeared. Sakura idly wondered if he used some type of transportation jutsu. Would he teach it to her if she asked?

"Well, Sakura-chan," Kiba addressed. He stretched leisurely on one foot before finishing his thought. "I think I'll head home now. The food was delicious, by the way."

"Aa. I as well will head home. The meal was exquisite."

"Okay, you two. Don't push yourself, Kiba-kun. The morphine is still working in your system. Akamaru-kun, will you make sure he gets home okay?"

Akamaru barked in the affirmative and the two shinobi and one ninken left through her front door. Sakura shook her head at them amusedly. She washed the dirty dishes and took up her watering can. It was time to feed the plants.

She glanced at the remaining two occupants of her apartment. Kakashi was still sitting at the table, reading his porn again. Gaara was in the living room, meditating on her couch. She then went about tending to her indoor garden. She gave attention to each plant. She fed the ones that needed watering and made sure they were getting along well with their amount of light and air circulation and such. She didn't need to worry about weeds much, because the wind didn't spread any seeds into the soil.

She went to every room, and then came back to the kitchen with an empty watering can. She put it away and took up her shopping list. She grabbed a few ryou from under her cookie jar and put it in her pocket.

"I'm going shopping," she announced. "I'll be back in an hour or two."

She left the kitchen. Gaara ignored her. Kakashi got up from the table and followed her. She turned around when she reached the front door and gave him a strange look.

"Why are you following me?"

"I'll go with you," he said, nose still buried in his little orange book. "Just in case you need help."

She scoffed at him. "It's shopping, Kakashi-sempai. Not an S-class jutsu."

Kakashi shrugged and followed her anyway. She led him to the market district. She went about here and there picking out favored produce from the various stands. He noticed that she expertly maneuvered through the crowds, deftly avoiding the pushing and shoving of aggressive housewives trying to get to the best buys first. Kakashi was having a little trouble with it. Granted, he was trying to read his book and keep close to Sakura at the same time. But, Sakura was a pro at it and somehow managed to sneak in and get the good deals while not inciting the rage of the territorial shoppers around her. Many even greeted her kindly. And every vendor she visited knew her personally. He would ask her about that later, he decided. Finally, she entered one of the stores. He followed her, but was pushed violently at the entrance into a pyramid of stacked cup ramen by a rather large and harried looking woman who didn't even bother to apologize. It made a huge clatter and Sakura was laughing at his prone position on top of the ruined pyramid.

"The great Copy-nin can't even get through a day at the market without getting pushed around by a bunch of civilian women?" she teased. "Really, Kakashi-sempai."

Kakashi extracted himself from the mess and was about to defend himself when he was greeted by a very scary sight.

"Ah!" screamed a store clerk. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

The tiny man looked like he was crazy. His hair was sticking up all over the place and there was a glint in his eyes that symbolized either a man at the end of his rope, or a courier nin who was about to go "postal." The little man took hold of the front of Kakashi's flak jacket, and in an amazing show of strength, brought Kakashi down to his level and started shaking the hell out of him. Kakashi was very worried about whiplash at this point. It was just some fallen ramen, for Kami's sake.

"Do you have any idea how fucking long it takes to put that pyramid, teme! Do you know how many fucking times I've had set that damn pyramid back up! I'll tell you, mother fucker! Every time some fucking moron comes along and decides to fall on it for a good laugh at poor Danbaa," the man was nearly in tears.

"It's okay, Danbaa-san," Sakura said placating. "He's with me."

"Ah, Sakura-sama! Forgive me! I did not know," the little man now identified as Danbaa said.

He immediately dropped the Copy-nin and it was only Kakashi's amazing reflexes that saved him from doing a face plant into the floor. Kakashi stood and tried to collect himself. The little man was now bowing profusely in apology to Sakura.

"Don't worry about it, Danbaa-san. I'm just sorry he ruined your pyramid. It looked especially nice today."

"Thank you, Sakura-sama. I knew you would be coming to restock soon, so I did my best all day."

"If I may interrupt," Kakashi interrupted, "who are you?"

"Ah! Follow me, onegai shimasu, Sakura-sama and company. I have your purchase in the back room and we can talk out of the way of the other shoppers." Sakura followed the man happily and Kakashi followed Sakura unhappily. Was it such a hard question?

They reached the back room and the little man allowed Sakura to pass by, but turned on Kakashi.

"To answer your question, jii-chan. I am the owner of this fine establishment," he smiled happily, gesturing all around to the dusty room filled with pickled fruits. "The great Danbaa-sama."

Kakashi's eyebrow ticked in annoyance. _'Jii-chan? The teme is older than I am.'_

"Danbaa-san makes the best pickled plums in all of Konoha," Sakura said smartly. "Danbaa-san, I know his hair is silver, but Kakashi-sempai is actually very young."

"_The_ Kakashi Hatake?" he asked in awe and then promptly jumped up and smacked Kakashi on the back of his head. Kakashi scowled. "You have never bought pickled fruits from Danbaa-sama. You have problems."

Kakashi wanted to hit the man and his lazy eye narrowed in dislike. Sakura giggled at them, which only made Kakashi want to hit the man more. Well, and smile at her, but he wasn't going to go there.

"Here you go, Danbaa-san," she said, holding out two jars of plums for him to take. "I would like these and some pickled pears as well."

"Anything for you, Sakura-sama," he melted. Kakashi put his book up and put his hands in his pockets as if in protest.

The little man bustled to finish her order and Sakura exited the back room for the checkout counter. Kakashi followed his kunoichi obediently, wanting to get away from the infuriating man. They made it to the counter and said man popped up out of nowhere. Kakashi leaned over the counter, looking for a trap door of some sort, but found none. Was this man a ninja?

"Kakashi-sempai, that's rude," Sakura scolded, smacking his arm. "You're making me look bad."

"Sakura-sama, you are a very loyal customer. It would take more than a pyramid wrecking, rude man to ever turn my opinion of you," he gushed.

Kakashi looked at Sakura from his leaning position. She was blushing shyly. "Loyal customer?" he questioned.

"Sakura-sama has been buying pickled fruit from Danbaa since she was a little girl," he said proudly. "There is no greater honor than having the beautiful person, Sakura-sama, as a steady patron."

"He, he. Okay, I think it's time we go," she said. She handed over the exact amount of money required.

"You see! She even knows the price of her purchase with tax by heart. Danbaa will always have a special place in his heart for Sakura-sama."

'_Kakashi is about ready to shove a pineapple up Danbaa's…'_

Kakashi didn't get to finish his thought as Sakura grabbed the jars and pulled him out of the store, only stopping to exercise polite manners.

"Arigatou gozai masu, Danbaa-san. Ja ne!"

"Yosh! Kakashi-sempai, I'm done shopping. Let's go home."

"Aren't you forgetting something, Sakura-chan?"

"Ano… no, I don't think so," she said nonchalantly.

"My cherries and oranges," he reminded kindly.

"I was hoping you would forget about those," she sighed dejectedly. He smiled, eye crinkling. "Fine. I'll buy your damn cherries and oranges."

"Language, Sakura-chan. Language," he rebuked teasingly.

'**_If you start buying him food he'll never go away,' _**Inner Sakura warned.

'_I know, but what else can I do?' _

'_**There's always the whole get lost in the crowd routine. So what if he's the Copy-nin. We know this street like the back of our hand. He'll never catch us. Come on! We can take him! He gets pushed into ramen pyramids!'**_

'_Yeah, that was extremely unlike Kakashi-sempai. I think maybe it's the market setting. It sets him off. I wonder why.'_

'_**Wonder later. Iki is up ahead. Let's whack him just for the hell of it.'**_

'_We can't do anything until he provokes it. You know that. There still a chance that he's changed his ways.'_

'_**Yeah, right! When Ino flies!'**_

They were just about to walk past Ikimina, the market's local groper. Sakura hoped, but was disappointed. She felt a hand squeeze her butt.

"Hentai!"

She punched him right in the kisser, which was followed up by a kick to the stomach from Kakashi. Sakura glanced at her former sensei. From the look on his face, she was pretty sure that if there weren't so many witnesses, Iki would have a kunai lodged in his gut. She wouldn't have felt bad for him at all.

Kakashi looked like he was about to follow up on his kick, but Sakura dragged him away before he could beat the teme bloody.

"Kakashi-sempai, you can't just go around kicking people at market!" she scolded. He allowed himself to be tugged along by his kunoichi, especially since they were headed to a fruit stand that sold cherries and one next to it that sold oranges.

"_You_ punched him first,' he defended.

"Well, he wasn't squeezing _your_ ass," she reminded.

Kakashi didn't need to be reminded. He still wanted to beat the living shit out of the little teme. Groping his kunoichi was punishable by death in his mind. Kakashi was being far too merciful with letting him get away with a simple punch and kick.

"Sakura-chan! So nice to see you! I haven't seen you in weeks. How have you been?"

"Konnichiwa, Hana-baa-chan. I've been fine. I would like a pound of cherries, onegai."

The woman identified as Hana-baa-chan immediately squinted her eyes once happily closed eyes and glared at Kakashi. Her gaze ran him up and down. Had he been anyone else he would have fidgeted under the woman's critical gaze. Apparently she didn't like what she saw, because she turned back to Sakura with a disapproving frown.

"He's a little old for you, ne, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura's cheeks immediately flamed red. Kakashi merely stood there calmly at the implication, lazy eyed as always.

"Ano, no, Hana-baa-chan! You have it all wrong! He's my former sensei and he practically ordered me to buy him cherries and oranges."

"Oh? Well, that's good," she laughed heartily. "I was worried. I know you don't like cherries unless you share them. An old man is hardly a worthy cherry-partner for a nice girl your age."

Kakashi's eyebrow ticked on annoyance. _'Old man?'_

Sakura laughed at the woman's mistake and didn't bother correcting the mistake this time, to Kakashi's greater annoyance.

"May I have the cherries now, Hana-baa-chan?"

"Of coarse, dearie," the old woman said, filling a bag of cherries, expertly weigh out a pound without using a scale. "Sakura-chan, when are you going to find a nice, handsome, _young_ boy to share cherries with? With your looks, dearie, you could have your pick. Hana-baa-chan would like to see little Sakuras running all over market once more, and there is only one way to do that," she said, winking at her suggestively.

Sakura sweated and turned very red. Did the bawdy woman have to bring this up in front of Kakashi? Kakashi, on the other hand, was extremely amused by the conversation.

"Ano, Hana-baa-chan, don't you think it's a little early to be thing about little Sakuras."

"Nonsense, Sakura-chan. You've gotten your rag. The early you start at making little Sakuras, the more of the cutie pies there will be. Sometimes I miss the little Sakura-chan who would let me pinch her cute little cheeks until her face was all red and puffy," the woman said fondly with nostalgia, absentmindedly handing Sakura her produce and taking her money.

'_My, but isn't this woman very…frank,'_ thought Kakashi.

"Ano, he he, arigatou for the cherries, Hana-baa-chan. I have to go buy some oranges, now. It was nice seeing you again."

"Nice seeing you too, dearie. Tell that handsome old codger of an orange seller that he's always welcome in Hana-baa-chan's sheets anytime he pleases! Ja ne, dearie!"

Sakura dragged Kakashi away from the embarrassing old woman and approached the orange vendor.

"Batty old woman," the gruff old man behind the stand said. "I'm a meter away and she yells as if I was half way to Suna. Not in a thousand years, old biddy!" he yelled, shaking a fist at her. She blew him a kiss and then turned to some new customers.

Sakura sighed in relief at reaching the apparently safe ground before the fruit seller. "Konnichiwa, Kouga-jii-chan. May I have three oranges, onegai?"

Kouga immediately stared Kakashi down with a glare of death. Kakashi let the gaze pass over him without even a twitch. He was the picture of clam.

"He's too old for you, Sakura-chan," he announced. "What kind of perverted old man hooks a teenager?" he scolded Kakashi.

Kakashi's eyebrow was about to jump off his face with all the ticking. Sakura was trying very hard to suppress her giggles.

'_What is it with fruit sellers? Is there some rule written somewhere that equates buying fruit with love?'_ Kakashi sighed in his head.

Kakashi was about to proclaim to every vendor on the street that his hair was _silver_, not gray, and that he was only 29, but Sakura spoke up first.

"He's my former sensei, Kouga-jii-chan," she explained. "He's apparently very inept when at market and needed me to buy him some cherries and oranges."

The man harrumphed in approval and nodded. "There's no one better at market than our Sakura-chan. Good choice, Sensei-san."

"Arigatou…I think," Kakashi said, rubbing the back of his head and smiling with a crinkle to his eye.

"Here you go, Sakura-chan," he said, flopping Sakura's oranges into the canvas bag she held open for him. He accepted her money without a glance at the amount, trusting her completely.

"Come back sooner next time," he instructed.

"I will, Kouga-jii-chan. Ja ne," she said happily. He gave a parting wave as she and Kakashi headed home.

"Are all vendors that strange?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"They both thought I was trying to get in your pants because we were buying fruit together."

Sakura blushed at his wording and what she would have to reveal.

"Well, Hana-baa-chan wasn't completely off. I really do only get cherries when I share them with someone else; otherwise I end up stuffing my face and have a stomachache afterwards. She just makes assumptions about what kind of activities come after because that's what she would do. I almost always use oranges for making deserts. Sadly, all of the deserts I've made with oranges have all been for Sasuke," she sighed.

Kakashi nodded in understanding.

He took her bag from her, which was loaded down with all her purchases of the day.

"How are you so good in a market crowd?"

"I've been doing this since I could subtract. I think that was when I was four. It just comes natural. What I want to know is how are you, the great Copy-nin, so bad at it?"

"I had a bad experience once," he said enigmatically, looking up at the sky.

She looked at him expectantly, but he wasn't forthcoming. She sighed in aggravation and took her bag back from him. He looked at her innocently, as if asking why she was being so contrary. She just stomped away from him, leaving him to open his dirty little book and follow her like a duck following his mother.

He knew she was stubborn, but he also knew she would end up making him dinner tonight. That was just the type of person Sakura was. So, he read his book without a care in the world and followed close behind her, waiting for her anger and aggravation with him to subside.

She threw glances at him over her shoulder the way. With each glance, her scowl became more and more pronounced.

This reminded her of his recent habit of following her everywhere she went. She sped up a little, trying to put the customary distance between them. He sped up with her, always remaining a couple steps away. She slowed down and to see if she could force him away by invading his space, but he anticipated her movements and slowed down with her. She sped up again and he did the same. She couldn't get rid of the damn pervert! She was leaving little cracks in the ground now as she stomped her way home.

He was inwardly chuckling at her antics the whole way, not even reading a word of his precious book for favor of the excellent entertainment she was providing.

They made it to her apartment. She opened the door for them and walked in. He went to follow her, but the door slammed in his face. Well, not really his face. He was still reading. He heard the click of the click resonate in the still air. He was a little angry now. There was no reason to slam the door in his face. He went around the complex to enter into her living room from the window. He tried to open it and realized she had locked the windows as well. His kunoichi was very spiteful, he was finding. He deftly picked the lock and entered. The first thing he saw was Sakura's bloody form lying with dim green eyes glazed over in death. His heart stopped.

Then he remembered her "alarm system." The little chit had taken him out of the system. He cast the release jutsu and went to give his kunoichi a piece of his mind. He found her in the hallway, sitting with her back against the balcony door, plopping his cherries into her mouth.

He strode over to her. "Those are mine," he said, pointing to the cherries that were quickly disappearing.

"Really? I didn't see you pay for them."

Since when did she speak to him like this? This had to stop.

"What the hell is your problem?"

"Me?" she asked sweetly. "I don't have a problem. I'm just sitting here happily enjoying _my_ cherries and minding _my_ own business. Why do you ask?"

"Cut the crap, Sakura," he said, grabbing the bowl of cherries away from her. This must have pressed ever single, little button she possessed judging by her reaction.

She stood up suddenly and punched him in the jaw. He was so surprised that she would punch_ him_ that he forgot to dodge her punch. He landed on the floor a good meter away from her with a jaw bone that was without a doubt fractured.

"You want to know what my problem is, Kakashi? You! You're my problem! Where the hell do you get off just calmly waltzing back into my life out of the blue? You never gave a fuck before! And I was fine with that. I accepted _that!_ But now you act all friendly and caring for no apparent reason other than you can. Which the hell is it? When you were my sensei, you devoted all the attention to Naruto and Sasuke. And I was fine with _that!_ It was mostly my fault anyway. When Sasuke and Naruto left, you didn't stick around for me. And I was fine with _that!_ I know I'm not much to stay for. What I am _not_ fine with is you just coming into my life and acting like we were close friends then and now. Buy me cherries, Sakura! Here's a love seat, Sakura! It's my _life,_ Kakashi! It's not something to keep you entertained and mess around with only to throw it away as soon as the next S-rank mission comes along! I don't need you screwing up my life!"

Kakashi just stared up at her sullenly from the floor throughout her long rant. The truth was that she was breaking his heart. She was breathing heavily from her pent up rage and glaring at him for all she was worth. He looked at the floor and thought back to how it felt to hold her in his arms while she was cooking him breakfast. He felt like he was not alone.

He had two choices. Get the fuck out of her life like she had practically screamed at him to do. Or, try to express his feelings to her. He was scared, but he didn't let it show.

He thought of Rin, Yondaime-sama, and Obito-kun: guilt, sorrow, but, over all, a soul-eating loneliness. He decided he didn't want to be alone anymore, that he didn't want to lose her too. This was the first step.

"Is that what you think, Sakura-chan?" he asked forlornly.

He stood up and moved toward her. She tried to punch him again when he came within her range, but he captured her wrists before she could strike. She struggled to get out of his grasp, but he held her firm. He pulled her close to him and wrapped his rams around her, pinning her arms at his side. She stiffened in his embrace and he rested his chin, despite the pain, on her head, tucking her head into the hollow of his chest.

"Sakura, I never wanted to mess up your life. I never meant to mess us up this bad. I guess I just fucked something else up. It's true that I favored Naruto's and Sasuke's training. It's true that I left you alone for the longest time. I was so used to feeling like the only one who was alone. I was wrong. You were just as alone as I was and that was my fault. But don't you ever think for a second that I never cared."

He squeezed her a little tighter. She was crying. She made no noise, but her tears soaked through his shirt and touched him.

"I know you don't need me in your life, Sakura. But I want you to need me. So much it hurts. Please…don't shut me out. I know I did it to you and I have no right to ask, but please…"

His voice was just a whisper. He hardly dared to hope.

"Please…"

They stood there for a moment, the whole world holding its breath to witness her reaction. She slowly lifted her arms and…

She hugged him back.

"Kakashi-sempai," she cried. "You are one stupid bastard," she said fondly.

His heart soared and he chuckled ecstatically at her reply. He was very glad she couldn't see the one tear of joy that finally got to fall.

* * *

He let go of her after what seemed like hours. Sakura couldn't tell how much time had passed, but she was sure that it had not been hours. He had let go, but he was still sticking close. Any closer and he might as well have been part of her skin. He seemed to not want to lose physical contact with her.

He reached down to pick up the discarded bowl of cherries. He chuckled at the thought that all this started over fruit. _'Maybe the vendors weren't so crazy after all,'_ he thought. _'Maybe now she'll start acting normal around me again and not fly off the handle over the slightest things.' _He chuckled at his own thought._ 'What am I saying? It's Sakura.' _Sakura always took special notice of the little things. She had to if she was once in love with the icy Sasuke.

He dragged her, now. He brought them into the living room and flopped them down on the couch to enjoy the cherries together. She looked slightly dazed, but when he pulled out his little orange book and relaxed, leaning back in between the arm and back of the couch, she huffed and pulled her own book up from the pile of reference materials on her coffee table. The cherries sat between them, where they could both reach over at any time and eat one.

He smiled mischievously and pulled the bowl onto the arm of the couch just as she was reaching over to take one.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, looking up from her book to glare at him. She reached over him for the bowl, but he pulled it off the couch and held it above his head. She scooted closer to him and reached for the bowl. She vainly jumped, trying to reach but lacking the height. On her next jump, he encircled her with his arms and brought the bowl to rest in front of her. She looked down at the bowl in surprise for a moment at his sudden action. She accepted the cherries, but he didn't let her go as she had expected. She sighed tiredly and leaned back against him, knowing she would just have to get used to how touchy-feely Kakashi was when you spent too much time with him and gave him food. He seemed to approve of her gesture as he took one of his arms away to hold his book in front of his face and let the other rest peacefully around her waist.

She was a little uncomfortable at first, but Kakashi's ease with the situation was contagious. She placed the bowl in her lap and picked up her own book. The two sat reading comfortably. Kakashi would occasionally reach over and grab a cherry from the bowl. Sakura would sneakily watch from the corner of her eye in hopes of catching a glance at his face. But he must have sensed her attention, for he held up the cherry to his mouth and before she could blink, the pit was sitting between her fingers. She was inwardly frustrated, but tried not to let it show. She simply breathed out and put a little more pressure on his ribs. He didn't show any signs of discomfort, so she eventually let up. Once he had disposed of the pit, his arm would snake around her waist again.

He loved it. She was putting her full weight on him. He felt like he was invincible when she would rely on him so trustfully. He knew he had let a lot of people done in his life, but he knew he would die if he ever let Sakura down.

The back of his mind told him that he had let her down when he had lapsed with her training, when he hadn't brought Sasuke back, when he had left her all alone. He told his mind to shut up. She had forgiven him and that was enough. He was already carrying enough guilt for five people; he didn't need to add to the weight when she held nothing against him.

He reached up and ruffled her ridiculous pink hair. She harrumphed and leaned into him more, presumably to cause some sort of annoyance, which made him want to ruffle her hair all the more.

"You know, my _parents_ never touched me so much," she said huffily.

"Really?" He didn't look up from his book just to annoy her.

"That meant stop, _sempai," _she informed.

"I know," he replied continuing to ruffle her hair.

"I'm not one of your ninken to pet," she pouted.

"I would hope not." He didn't stop. In fact, he started to massage lightly with his finger tips as if he were petting her. She threw her head back into his chest and he chuckled. The sound reverberated through her. He wrapped his arm around her waist again and gave a slight squeeze as a teasing apology for his playfulness.

She accepted his apology and they went back to reading quietly. Thirty minutes later, he noticed her head starting to nod. He reached up and pushed her head back to lay on his chest cozily and withheld a chuckle as her eyes still fluttered, trying to stay awake. Her book was slowly lowering to her stomach. She finally closed her eyes and did not open them again. Her breathing was even. He did chuckle this time. He stretched his neck down and planted a kiss on the dome of her hard head. He would let her sleep until around dinnertime.

"Sweet dreams, Sakura-chan."

* * *

"Take that, Itachi-teme," Sakura said in her sleep. "I'll save you, Kaka-sempai."

He was running his fingers through her hair, currently ignoring his book as he listened to her sleep talk.

"Naruto, three plus two does not equal pi."

"Neji-kun, you're not supposed to eat that."

Kakashi's gutter-washed mind immediately skipped to the inappropriate and he wanted to wake her up and pound Neji's face in, in that order.

"I told you not to eat it."

"It's five, Naruto."

"Who wants to see an Itachi fly?"

"Hands off the hair, Kaka-sempai."

He idly wondered if his combing her hair was affecting her dreams.

"Definitely not. Kitties come from cats."

"Dogs aren't that great, Kiba-kun."

Kakashi felt a little hurt for his summons, which simply adored Sakura. Even Pakkun, although the little pug would never admit to it.

"Puppy! Why is he green, Kaka-sempai?"

"That's horrible."

"No, I once had a blue cat. Before that, I had a purple squirrel. And there was once a fire-breathing lizard."

'_It seems that Tiger-san is merely one in a long trend of odd pets,'_ he thought.

"They weren't around a lot."

'_Is she talking about the animals?'_

"Missions."

'_Her parents then.'_

"I remember trees."

He passed it off as rambling dream talk.

"Kaka-sempai might stay this time."

His heart was breaking at the hopeful tone that her usually flat dream voice took on. Had he really been away form her so long that she doubted he would stay by her side?

"There's nothing wrong with being alone, as long as they come back to me in the end."

"Do you think Sasuke will come back, Sakura-chan?" he asked quietly, thinking out loud.

"The Sasuke we knew died in the fight with Naruto-kun. But, I'm a medic-nin. I'll bring him back to life. Or Naruto-kun will. I know he will. Winter always comes back at the end of the year."

"But I would prefer the spring. Everything dies in winter," Kakashi reminded.

"It doesn't die. It's just resting until it can be reborn when the sun makes it warm again."

"And are you the sun, Sakura-chan?"

"Sun? Hold on, Kaka-sempai. Itachi-teme is back. Who wants to see the weasel fly?"

Kakashi knew she was the sun. He also knew that Sasuke was so far north that there would never be a spring for him, unless they somehow managed to drag him south. He wasn't so sure he wanted to share the sunlight though.

"You can stay, Kaka-sempai. Good night."

Her breathing evened again and she went back through the sleep cycles. Kakashi was sure that while it was about to be winter, his spring was just starting.

* * *

"Sakura-chan," he called.

She mumbled something incoherent and buried in closer to the warmth underneath her.

"Sakura-chan," he called again, lightly tugging on her hair and making her head bounce a little on his chest.

"Nani?" she whined. "Five more minutes, Naruto."

"I'm not Naruto, Sakura-chan," he said. His stomach gave a grumble that wouldn't be heard unless you were touching his stomach. "I'm hungry."

Sakura looked up sleepily, one eye still closed and the other only open to a sliver. Kakashi thought she was the cutest thing he had ever seen.

She opened both eyes and assessed the situation. Kakashi was lying flat on his back on her couch. He had one leg off the couch while the other stretched out comfortably along the length of the couch. Sakura's legs lay to the side of his. She was nestled sideways so that half her was tucked between the couch and him and the other half lay on top of his chest. Her hands were fisted in the material of his flak jacket, which was only slightly more comfy than what she would have expected. She still had a couple of impressions on her arms and from whatever was in the pockets. He was absently rubbing her back as he continued to read his book. This was very confusing. They hadn't started out like this.

"How'd we end up like this?" she asked, still half asleep and not really registering the intimacy of their positions.

He chuckled. "You kept throwing punches at me saying something about a flying weasel. I had to avoid them and you stopped when we got in this position."

"Oh," she said. He said that as if it were the simplest thing in the world. A punch from her could kill a weaker man. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," he smiled at her with his eye crinkling. "Just make me dinner."

Sakura glanced at the clock. It was past dinnertime! She was jerked off the couch and practically ran to the kitchen to get started.

Kakashi stayed on his back and chuckled at her. He was missing her warmth already.

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" she demanded.

"I didn't want to be punched," he teased in his usual sarcastic and lazy manner. _'Because I wanted you next to me a little longer,' _he thought.

He got up and walked over to her frantic form. She hustled to get her ingredients ready and set out. The equipment was already there. He draped himself lazily over her shoulders. She tried to shake him off, but he wouldn't budge. She sighed and went back to cooking. She chopped and fried as if the world depended on it. Kakashi watched the whole thing through half-lidded eyes.

"Why are you in such a hurry, Sakura-chan?"

"Gaara and the others leave for Suna tomorrow."

"Un. And?"

"He brings the whole family over for dinner the day before they have to leave. They won't have time tomorrow because they'll leave at about noon. This is their farewell dinner from Konoha."

"Why don't all the three of them just stay with you?"

"There's not really enough room around here. I suppose Temari-chan could stay in my room, Kankurou-kun could have the couch, and Gaara-sama could have the spare bedroom, but it would be a tight squeeze. And I have only one bathroom. Can you imagine the fight for toilet time?"

"Why give Gaara the spare bedroom? He doesn't sleep."

"Kakashi-sempai! That would be about the rudest thing I could do to such a high-ranking guest. Just because he doesn't sleep doesn't mean he doesn't deserve a room. And it's like shoving it in his face! 'You can't sleep because there's a demon in you that will go on a murdering rampage if you do. So sorry, but we're going to give the room to someone who doesn't have a psycho killer beast housed in his body.' I would never do that to Gaara-sama!"

"It's just not very practical," he defended.

"Neither is that mask of yours, but you still wear it," she pointed out.

He acknowledged her point with a soft hum. He leaned his head on top of hers. He was jostled every now and then when she reached over to grab this spice or that ingredient, but that didn't really discourage him from staying where he was.

"I'll have to cook a lot of food," she thought aloud, "because all three of them can eat enough for twenty people. I'm not exaggerating, either. I tested it once. With what I fed them one night I fed twenty people for a festival. It's scary really. Are you staying for dinner?"

"Of course," he replied, voice as non-expressive as ever.

"Three more teaspoons of vinegar. You really need to stop eating here so often or I'm going to have to start charging you. I'm used to cooking for just myself a lot of the time. This is a lot of work cooking for so many, I'll have you know."

Now she was just talking _at_ him. He smiled peacefully beneath his mask as he let her voice wash over him.

"Shikamaru-kun was poisoned by Kankurou-kun yesterday. It was kind of funny when the nurses brought him all twitching. He whacked Kagome-chan in the face once. Very funny. I fixed him right up though. He said that the fight had started over Temari-chan. Have you met the other Suna siblings yet?"

"Aa."

"Hm. Well, it might be a little awkward with you there with us tonight. I don't know. I suppose you'll just pull out that awful book of yours and pretend like nothing's going on."

"Probably," he agreed offhandedly.

"Is that really the impression you want to present to allied shinobi of another village. Even if it is who you are naturally. You know, as far as habits go, you really don't set a good example, Kakashi-sempai."

"Would you like me any other way?"

She thought about for a moment while she went on making mountains of food.

"No, I don't think I would. Wow. I prefer a perpetually late and ever perverted Kakashi-sempai over a prim jounin. Have my standards really dropped so far?"

He chuckled.

"I blame you for that, by the way," she teased.

"How so?"

"You were nothing like the sensei I was expecting."

"Oh?"

"I was expecting a more serious version of Iruka-sensei."

"Iruka deals with brats all day. He has to be the way he is. Ninety percent of sensei are not like that."

"So I've learned. Just look at Gai-sensei."

He felt a shudder crawl up her spine and smiled.

"At least he isn't always challenging _you_ to the stupidest contests."

"No, I just train with him for thirty minutes three days a week. I think I have it worse than you, thanks. I don't know how Neji-kun and Tenten-chan handle it every day. He and Lee-kun can be funny sometimes, but they are usually so tiresome. My taijutsu has really improved for it though. Oh! By the way, if you're going to be staying, there are some things you should know."

Kakashi gave her his full attention.

"First, always keep your eyes on Temari-chan's face. Even if you aren't looking at her breasts, she automatically assumes that of anyone she thinks is even a little bit perverted. She thinks you rate pretty high on the hentai meter, so watch it, not them. Second, don't mention ponies in front of Kankurou-kun. He'll break down and cry all over the place. I don't know why, put I think it has something to do with his childhood. I know that it's stupid and probably won't come up, but never mention ponies in front of Kankurou-kun…or forks. Third, if either Temari-chan or Kankurou-kun starts giving you the snake eye, they're trying to see how intimidating you can be, so you have to give it right back if you want to get on their good side. You've already eaten with Gaara-sama, so you know what to expect. He's the normal one, sad as that is. Other than that they're all pretty good table conversers and have excellent manners."

"Sounds fun," he said sarcastically.

"You don't have to stay you know," she quipped. "In fact, it might be better if you ate somewhere else tonight."

Her worried frown was bothering him.

"I'm not that bad, Sakura-chan. Everything will be fine."

"You'll behave yourself?" she asked, still worrying.

"Don't I always?" he smiled innocently.

"I'm serious, Kakashi-sempai. I care about these people. Please don't embarrass me."

"Why are you making such a big deal about this? It's just dinner. What could possibly go wrong?"

Sakura thought about it.

'**_Dear Kami-sama, it's Armageddon!' _**Inner Sakura screamed, running in circles as apocalyptic visions raced through Sakura's mind.

Sakura shuddered. Kakashi chuckled.

"So what else is new in Konoha?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Well…"

And she went on. She told him all the latest gossip, being sure to tell him that this was just what she had heard and that she wasn't completely sure if it really happened. He was lulled by her sweet voice. She was almost done with dinner now, but Kakashi didn't want to let her go.

Sakura looked up at the window.

"They'll be here in five minutes," she said, pushing him off of her harshly. She busily brought the plates and platters over to the table, a veritable feast laid out in elegance. He helped her carry only a few things, pouting over her rough treatment.

When everything was ready, she gave him a critical once over. She looked him up and down and frowned. He stood over her calmly, a good head taller than her.

"I suppose that will have to do," she said of his appearance. "Now, go to the living room and act, I don't know, busy."

She pushed him into the living room and went to answer the door that had just knocked.

"And be nice," she threw over her shoulder.

"When am I ever not nice?" he mumbled to himself, sitting on her couch and pulling out his book.

"Come on in, everybody," he heard her say from the hallway.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan," a female voice said. That must be Temari. She sounded pleasant.

"How's my hot nurse been?" a man's voice asked playfully. That had to be Kankurou. Kakashi decided he didn't like him.

"Here," Gaara said.

"Arigatou, Gaara-sama. They smell wonderful."

The four of them walked into the kitchen. Sakura was holding a large bouquet.

"Well, you're too young to drink, so wine was out of the question," Temari teased.

"You didn't have to bring anything," she said hospitably.

"And have Suna shinobi look like bad guests? I think not," the older woman sniffed.

"Wow, Sakura-chan! It looks delicious! Let's dig in!" Kankurou said. He was already sitting down and starting to pile things onto his plate.

Temari smacked the back of his head.

"You baka, don't just go grabbing. Wait for everyone else, pig!"

Kakashi put his book away, got up, and walked over to join them. Sakura was putting the flowers in a vase. Gaara noticed him coming, but paid him no mind and simply went about seating himself at the table. Temari and Kankurou, on the other hand, turned and stared at him for a moment, unsure if they were really seeing him there. Both of them blinked furiously and stared some more. Sakura came to the rescue.

"Temari-chan, Kankurou-kun, this is my former sensei, Kakashi. He's staying for dinner, too. Kakashi-sempai, this is Temari-chan and Kankurou-kun."

"We know who he is," Temari informed. "I just didn't think he was ever around you anymore."

"Yeah, Sakura-chan. You said he was a lazy-ass, perverted jounin who spent so much time on missions that…"

Sakura clamped her hand down on Kakurou's traitorous mouth. Kakashi's eye narrowed. Sakura sweated.

"Kankurou-kun, Kakashi-sempai doesn't need to know what I said. It wasn't important anyway, right?" she asked sweetly, removing her hand.

"I don't know, Sakura-chan. It seemed pretty important at the- ite!"

Sakura had stomped on his foot underneath the table. Temari smirked at the amusing scene and took her place at the table to watch Sakura beat the shit out of her annoying brother.

"Right?" the deceivingly sweet-looking girl asked dangerously.

"Right, not important," Kankurou said in an octave higher than normal. He thought he could tease her a little, but he had forgotten how violent she could be. He decided to keep his mouth shut about it.

"No, Kankurou-san. I'd like to hear what Sakura-chan said about me. Something about lazy-ass, perverted jounin and missions?"

"Well, look at all this food!" Sakura tried to change the subject nervously. "Let's eat before it gets cold."

She sat down next to Temari. She breathed a sigh of relief when Kakashi let it go and sat next to her. He leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"I'll find out sooner or later," he promised.

She was nervous again.

'**_Damn you, Kankurou! I'll stitch that mouth of yours shut!'_** Inner Sakura railed.

Sakura sighed forlornly in her head.

But, Kakashi's actions had not gone unnoticed. Temari and Kankurou shared a suspicious glance across the table and began to watch the two very carefully.

"Itadakimasu," they all said and began eating. It was quiet for the first few minutes. No one had anything to say to the other apparently. Sakura was hoping the Suna siblings and her sempai would hit it off without her intervening, but that seemed like a foolish hope now. It seemed she would have to break the ice.

"Gaara-sama, would you pass the dango, onegai?" she asked.

'_**You call that an icebreaker! Try again, stupid!'**_

'_Lay off! It's not like I have anything to say either_,' she thought at herself.

Silence went on for a while and Sakura tried again.

"So, Kankurou-kun, how do you like that poison I made you?"

"It's great! I get so many more sparring partners! My abilities have grown substantially because of it. I bet I could give even the Copy-nin here a run for his money."

"I doubt that," Temari replied cynically.

"Aw, come on, onee-san! Have a little faith," he advised.

"I'll have faith when you can beat Sakura-chan in a fight. Until then, you're hopeless."

Kankurou looked down in depression. "But she's too good for me to beat," he whined.

"Tough."

Sakura giggled.

"Are they always like that," Kakashi asked, leaning in close.

Sakura looked up at him with a smile. "Yep," she laughed. "They act just like siblings should, ne?"

Kakashi nodded and went back to his meal. He didn't lean away as much as he should have. He did this unconsciously and Kankurou and Temari instantly narrowed their eyes. They shared a significant glance again.

'_First, she invites him to **our** dinner and then he acts all close. That's **if** she even invited him. It might just be a charity thing. But I don't think that's what is going on.'_

Temari communicated these thoughts silently to Kankurou through eye contact and small hand motions, their own personal sign language.

"_I bet he's just trying to get in her pants!" _Kankurou motioned.

Temari almost snorted. _"Possible," _she signed. _"Either way, I don't like it. One more act like that and it's hazing time."_

Kankurou agreed.

"Stop it, you two," Gaara ordered.

Temari and Kankurou looked at him curiously. He had never told them not communicate this way before.

"You're being rude." He gave a significant glance at the Copy-nin.

Kakashi's head was tilted to the side in curiosity. He had apparently noticed their signing, even though it consisted of the most minor and unnoticeable movements, and was very interested. Sakura was just giving the two a sarcastic look.

"Sorry about that," Temari apologized sheepishly. "Sibling stuff."

Kankurou nodded, stuffing his mouth with food.

Kakashi accepted the apology with a nod and went back to eating. Sakura smiled understandingly at the two.

"So, Kakashi-san…you were Sakura's former sensei?" Temari started the interview.

"Aa."

"Former sensei? What'd you do to get kicked off her team? Molest her?" Kankurou asked.

Sakura chocked on her eel. Kakashi patted her on the back to help her get it up.

"Not that I can blame. I would too if I was in your place."

The eel was now permanently lodged in her throat. She had almost got it, too. She pounded on her chest and the eel went flying across the room. Kakashi looked at her with concern. She took a sip of water and then proved she was alright.

"What the hell are you saying, Kankurou!"

"I just wanted to know. I won't judge if he did," he said meekly. Sakura was scary when she was angry.

"I would never molest Sakura-chan," he said much too calmly.

"How can you just sit there and take that!" she demanded, standing up in outrage. "Kakashi may be a pervert, but he would never do something like that to anyone!"

Kankurou was about to piss his pants.

"Calm down, Sakura-chan," he said with a hint of laughter in his voice. He loved it when she got all riled up, especially when her anger was directed at someone other than himself. But, he was seriously starting to worry for the health of her guest. He placed a calming hand on her shoulder and slowly pushed her back in her seat.

"But… but…he…"

"He was probably joking. Right, Kankurou-san?"

"Sure. Why not?" he responded, still shaken from his very close escape.

"Hmph! Fine," she conceded.

Temari was having a blast until she noticed Kakashi's hand linge3r a little more than it was supposed to. It was grilling time.

"So why did you get taken off the team, Kakashi-san?"

"There were extenuating circumstances," he said, looking at Sakura's blank face as she wantonly took a bite out of some chicken.

'_Well that told us a lot,'_ Temari thought sarcastically. _'Don't break down with your life's story or anything.'_

"What kind of extenuating circumstances?"

"There were conflicts in the team."

"The Uchiha left for Otogakure," Gaara said bluntly.

"But why would he be taken off her team for that?" Kankurou asked with confusion.

"Naruto-kun left to train to bring Sasuke back and there wasn't much of a team after that," Sakura clarified without emotion. The sand around her thigh rubbed at her in a comforting gesture. Sakura touched the ring in thanks.

Kakashi looked a little guilty as he watched Sakura's blank face closely, Temari noticed.

"That makes sense, I guess," Kankurou nodded. "Sorry about the molesting crack, Kakashi-san."

"Don't worry about it," he said.

"So how long have you two known each other?" Temari asked.

"Two years."

"It's three, Kakashi-sempai," Sakura corrected.

"Really? I could have sworn it was two."

"That's because you have no sense of time."

He grunted in agreement.

"How long ago did your team split up?"

"Well, if it was three years ago, then that must have been about two years ago."

"It was more like two and a half. Once Sasuke left, we all started going our own ways," Sakura added.

Kakashi nodded and took a bight of ramen.

"How old are you, Kakashi-san? I know you're not that old, but your hair color makes it seem like you are."

"I'm twenty-nine," he said forcefully.

"He's been called old a lot recently," Sakura explained.

"Any significant others?"

Sakura was beginning to wonder about Temari's line of questioning. Was she interested in Kakashi? That would be just plain weird.

"Not really."

"How do you treat your ladies?" Kankurou joined in the grilling.

"I treat them pretty well, I think."

'_What is going on?' _Sakura wondered.

'_**Beats me,'** _Inner Sakura answered.

"What do you look for in a woman?" from Temari. She was a little upset that the man didn't seem the least bit phased by the very personal, often embarrassing, questions they were asking.

"I'd rather not answer that.

"How's your mission record?" asked Kankurou.

"Excellent."

"How do you feel about children?" Temari again.

"They're all brats."

"Would you want to have any of your own?" she asked with hostility.

"With the right woman."

"If you found three ryou in the street, what would you do?" Kankurou questioned fiercely.

"Track down the owner with my ninken."

Sakura scoffed. They both knew he would spend it.

"Would you ever cheat on a girlfriend?" Temari asked harshly.

"No."

Sakura had no response to that one, but was skeptical. Kakashi was male, after all.

"Do you ever lie?" Kankurou asked, badgering.

"All the time."

'_And very badly,'_ Sakura added.

And so it went. They continued to ask about his character and personal life until he was sure they had asked about every aspect of his life, including how he brushed his teeth. Now that he thought about it, he should keep his tooth brush here. He ate all his meals here and it was tiresome hopping between apartments just to take care of hygiene. He was relieved when the brother and sister team turned their attention elsewhere.

"Sakura-chan, how have you been?" Temari asked with an instantly brighter attitude, formally ending the interview with Kakashi. "Any hot new men in your life recently?"

Kakashi thought he might qualify and was a little disappointed when she replied in the negative. At least the spot light had moved to her. He was content to fall into the background.

In a lull of silence common to any conversation, Temari and Kankurou shared another glance and Temari nodded in some silent signal. She went on talking to Sakura about girls' interests.

Kankurou turned to him and gave him the "snake eye." And a true snake eye it was. His left eye popped out of his socket and his pupils seemed to become nothing but slits. He glared malice and death. But, Kakashi was the Copy-nin. He sent back a snake eye of his own. Kankurou was shaking in his sandals. He was really pale when he entered the conversation and let Temari have a go at him.

Temari sized him up and then gave him the most frightening snake eye he had ever seen. Her eye didn't promise malice and death. It promised deep and utter hatred that would settle for no less than him begging for death before the inescapable killing. His already pale face paled even more, but he returned the snake eye with even more force than he had with Kankurou, besting even Temari. Temari was shaking in fright and looked away quickly.

'_Shimatta. That is the most terrific snake eye I have ever seen. It exudes cold hatred that would deny death after making you beg for death. I can't stop shaking. Shimatta!' _Temari thought wildly.

She brought her fist down on the table in a loud bang that lifted their plates off the table.

"I disapprove!"

"Nani, Temari-chan?" Sakura asked in surprise at her friends forceful reactions.

"I disapprove of your relationship," she said while glaring death at Kakashi.

"As do I!" Kankurou joined in.

"Nani? Is that what the twenty questions were about?" Sakura asked.

'_Anyone who can give a snake eye that loathsome doesn't deserve Sakura-chan,' _the siblings thought as one. _'She deserves better!'_

"We forbid you to see him anymore!"

"What? But we're not togeth…

"You can't keep me from seeing Sakura-chan," Kakashi glared back.

Sakura's head was spinning. "What! Kakashi-sempai don't encourage…"

"As the official liaison between Suna and Konoha, I am personally petitioning the hokage to make sure that you never come within twenty feet of her." Temari stood in order to add physical superiority to her authority. Kankurou stood in support of her.

"I have more standing in this village than you can imagine, little girl," he said, also standing to loom over his opponents. "The hokage would never do such a thing."

"What makes you so sure? This is the economy and public relations we're talking about. Sakura-chan is loved in Suna as much as she is in Konoha. Our people will not stand for one such as you to be near her!"

Sakura was looking on with horror as the two threatened each other. She tried to get a word in edgewise, but couldn't manage it.

"I don't care what the people of Suna have to say about it. This is Konoha. No force on Earth will keep me away from Sakura in my own village!"

"So you would go against your own village? Some shinobi!"

"The hokage was the one who assigned me to watch over her!"

"So it was a mission?" Sakura's voice was small and she hid behind her hair. Temari and Kakashi stopped their argument at her angry, incredibly sorrowful tone. "That's why you've been around so much? Because I'm just another fucking mission?"

She laughed sardonically. It broke Kakashi's heart to hear such a laugh from his kunoichi.

"I guess I never was enough to keep people around. A mission _would_ be the only way you'd stick around. I just can't believe I didn't see it before."

Her voice was so full of self-loathing. The whole apartment was silent. Kakashi had to explain.

She wanted to cry. So badly. She knew Kakashi shouldn't have eaten with them.

"Can we all just sit and have a pleasant meal, please?" she asked, swallowing the tears.

"Sure, Sakura-chan," Temari said absently, sitting down and eating while worrying about her friend. Kankurou followed suit and the room was given to silence.

"Sit down, Copy-nin," Gaara warned.

Kakashi sat down, trying to catch Sakura's eye. He wanted to try and tell her that he took the mission because he wanted to be close to her again. He wanted to tell her, but there were too many people around and this was a private matter. She wouldn't look at him.

"So Temari-chan, how are things in Suna?" she asked with a smile.

"Fine," she said worriedly. "Sandy like always."

Sakura smiled at the attempt to cheer her up with Temari's own brand of humor.

They got a conversation going and the tension in the room dropped drastically. Kankurou joined in soon enough and everyone was eating healthily again.

Kakashi was left out of the interaction, though. Sakura still wouldn't look at him.

She chatted merrily with the foreigners. He didn't feel right butting into the conversation, so he let them ignore him.

Soon the food was all gone. The Suna siblings thanked the hostess and she saw them out the door. They had to get up early tomorrow for a meeting, she knew, so they couldn't stay for any worthwhile recreation. Kakashi waited awkwardly next to the ravished dishes, hoping to get his chance to explain when she came back.

She walked back into the kitchen. She gave him one soulful, sorrowful look and then turned her eyes to the floor. Her body language screamed for him to leave. He watched her carry the plates to the sink, trying to find the right way to phrase his apology. This could determine their future relationship.

She had moved all the dishes to the sink and was now washing them. All he could see was her back. He wanted to hold her again like before, but she would probably try to kill him. He would have to start with words. He sighed.

"Sakura, I…"

"Why are you still here?"

"What?"

"You don't have to be here to watch over me. Leave."

"Sakura, I don't…"

"I'm asking for another shinobi for this mission. I doubt Tsunade-shishou will refuse me."

"Sakura, will you just…"

The plates clattered and clacked. The water hushed at him quietly.

"I told you to leave! I don't want to hear…"

He had her in his arms, one hand clamped over her mouth and the other holding her hands. She resisted for a moment. She tried to get a hand free to punch him. She tried to kick him, but he had pressed her against the bottom cabinets. But, she didn't scream. She still trusted him enough to not think the worst of him.

"Just listen to me for a second," he said angrily. She stopped struggling. He felt two warm tears reach the hand still over mouth. She slumped against him and he wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her from falling.

"Sakura, I don't want to leave. Leaving is the farthest thing from my mind. And not just because I would fail the mission. I couldn't care less if I failed a stupid mission. Tsunade gave me this mission the day I found you at the memorial. I came to realize I didn't know a thing about you anymore. I don't want that, Sakura-chan. I don't stay because of the mission. I stay because I don't want to lose you."

There! There was his heart in the palm of her hand.

He could feel the silent sobs that were racking her body. He removed his hand from her mouth and wrapped it around her shoulders, supporting her and leaning on her at the same time. He lowered his head to her shoulder and waited for her response.

She brought her hands, gently cupping his heart, to rest above her own. She giggled joyously.

"Sorry, Kakashi-sempai. I guess I was acting kind of stupid back there."

Her spine straightened and she turned in his arms to give the best hug he had ever received. He decided holding her was best when she had her arms around him, too.

"You weren't acting stupid. Just hard-headed."

She laughed and cried at the same time. He realized a little too late that her hands were still wet from washing. The water running down his neck was making his spine shiver. She giggled when he told her about and wiped it away for him. She rested her head against his chest peacefully, glad that at least one of her boys had no intentions of leaving her.

He wanted this feeling to last forever. He picked her up by her waist and she squeaked in protest. He chuckled at her. He carried her over to the couch.

"No, Kakashi-sempai! I have to finish the dishes."

"Finish them later," he replied, flopping them both down on the couch. "I have reading to catch up on." He dramatically flipped open his dirty book.

"And you needed me on top of you to do that?" she asked skeptically.

"Aa."

She sighed and rested her head against his chest again. He was right. The dishes could wait until this feeling passed. He started to massage her scalp absentmindedly. She was about to protest, but he passed a sensitive spot behind her ear. She moaned in pleasure.

His hand stopped instantly and she sighed in disappointment. He looked away from his book and stared at her curiously. Sakura blushed and smiled sheepishly.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"You hit a sensitive spot."

"Behind your ear?" he asked skeptically.

"Behind each ear actually."

He reached up and began rubbing the area behind her ear. She sighed in ecstasy and her eyes drifted shut. He chuckled at this newfound power over her. He could tell it was fogging her brain with pleasant sensations and making her sleepy. He set his book aside and began rubbing behind her other ear. She practically purred at him.

She lazily opened her eyes, not really focusing until she found the clock. Nine twenty.

"Ah!" she said, taking Kakashi's hands away from her ears. She tried to get up and fell off the couch in her rush. He chuckled and lifted her to her knees.

"What's the rush?" he asked, resting his elbow on the couch and his head on his upright hand.

"I've got to go!" she exclaimed, coming to her feet. "I've got training with Ibiki-sempai."

She bent down and kissed his hitai-ate. "Ja ne, Kaka-sempai!"

She was gone through the window before she could see the blissful expression cross Kakashi's face. She had called him by her nickname for him. She hadn't done that since they were still student and sensei. He was hers again. The thought filled his heart to the brim.

"Wait. Training with **Ibiki**?"

* * *

Training with Ibiki was worse than a bitch, Sakura decided. Training with Ibiki was a mother-fucking, constantly bitching, sick, sadistic bastard.

They had started off by getting her used to the sight and smell of blood. She didn't need much coaching in this area. She was a medic. The same went for the gore desensitization.

That wasn't the bad part. Too bad it only took up thirty minutes of this training session. He then put her through that awful jutsu again. She experienced all sorts of excruciating pain, from broken bones to live dissections. The worst came about thirty minutes in. Rape.

She couldn't see her attacker, but she could feel him. He held her down and touched her and she screamed for him to stop, _please stop!_ But to no avail. She panicked and couldn't form a coherent thought. She thrashed and tried to get away. She couldn't get her hands free for some reason. All the while the sick teme was feeling her in places she would kill him for if she could just get her hands free. Then she felt him enter her and she screamed.

"No, stop!"

'_**The release jutsu, baka! It's not real!'**_

It was just the prompting she had needed.

"Kai!" she screamed. Inner Sakura had saved her. Kami-sama, she felt like she was going to throw up. That was the first thing she did when she came back to the real world.

She heaved and heaved until her stomach was empty. Ibiki was there. He tried to help her, but she almost broke his arm when she slapped his helping hand away.

"Don't touch me!"

She wiped her mouth and crawled to the corner where no one could sneak up on her. She hugged her knees to her tightly and rocked back and forth.

"It wasn't real. It wasn't real," she tried to convince herself, eyes unfocused. She couldn't seem to stop shaking. She still felt the ghost touches of that man, whoever he had been. Ibiki called for some tranquilizers, but Sakura was starting to calm down and come to her senses.

"It wasn't real," she said, relieved. Her rocking came to a stop, but her body continued to shake. She idly wondered if it was her body reacting to the stress or a side effect of the jutsu. The smell of bile in the air made a nice smelling-salt of sorts. What a waste of good food, she thought.

Ibiki walked over to her slowly, stepping around the mess on the floor.

"Hey, kid. You going to be alright?"

He tentatively reached out and put a hand on her head. She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. She wished Tsunade were here to comfort her. Or Kakashi maybe. Even Naruto. She desperately needed a hug. Seeing as there was no one around to offer her one, she suck it up and but on a brave face.

"I'll be f-fine, I-Ibiki-sensei," she said. Damn. Even her voice was shaking.

"What happened, kiddo?"

She buried her face in her knees. "Rape," she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," he said sadly. He let out a long sigh.

"Ibiki-san, I got the tranquilizers!" Aoba burst into the room waving the requested medications. Ibiki looked up from the curled up Sakura and then back down.

"You going to need those?" he asked her not unkindly.

She took a couple of deep breaths. _'It wasn't real.'_ She wiped away her tears and shook her head.

"That's my girl," Ibiki approved. He turned back to the worrying Aoba. "We won't be needing those anymore, Aoba. Put them back where you found them, please."

"Hai, Ibiki-san!" he saluted and left after a quick, concerned glance at Sakura.

"You need help up, kiddo?"

Sakura shook her head and stood up on her own strength, despite her shaking and wobbly limbs. Ibiki smirked at her proudly.

"I think that's enough of that for one night. With all that screaming you did, I'm pretty sure our recent captured nin are shaking in their boots. Let's give their nerves a rest, shall we?"

Sakura nodded and followed him to his office.

"I know that you can't get into any genjutsu that doesn't alter your sense of feeling like that one does, so there's no point in putting you through the other one, despite your improvements to it."

"I-It never hurts to try," she said. Ibiki stopped and turned to her with an odd look on his face.

"After what you just went through, you're still willing to try watching your friends go through just as much?"

Sakura looked confused, but nodded her head. "It's what I signed up for, isn't it?"

Ibiki looked surprised for a second and then chuckled. "Why are you even here, kiddo?"

"To train?"

"No. I meant why do you need to train. If you have this much determination and will-power, I doubt if even I could get information out of you if you didn't want to give it."

Sakura blushed at his praise. "The pain doesn't really bother me," Sakura said, trying to play it down. "Training with Tsunade-shishou kind of helps me build up a tolerance."

He nodded once in understanding. "I watched you two spar once. I don't envy you. If you really want to continue…"

Sakura nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Then let's go to a more comfortable room." He continued walking down the dimly lit hallway until he reached one of the many, many doors evenly spaced along the length of the hall. Sakura knew some of the doors to be fakes that would explode if you tried to open them. Escapees would have no chance in this place, she realized. Ibiki opened the door and Sakura was met with the bright lights of the room. She followed him in.

"This is break room ten. No one will be using this one today, so you can relax in here. We'll continue once you've had some chamomile tea."

Sakura sat down on the couch while Ibiki made poured her a cup from the already made tea.

"I thought you said no one would be using this room today. Why is there tea made already?"

"No one will be using this room because it's designated as my personal break room for the night."

"Oh."

Ibiki handed her a cup of the brew and took a seat on a recliner across from her. He watched her silently as he lifted his cup to his mouth. Sakura followed his example, but once the smell hit her nose, she knew something was up.

"What did you put in my tea, Ibiki-sensei?"

Ibiki raised an eyebrow at her. "Tsunade-sama has taught you well, I see. What I put in your tea is a truth serum of sorts. It lowers your inhibitions for a couple of hours. I want you to drink it and we'll work on your tolerance to such methods of interrogation. For every question I ask, I want you to talk to me, but not give me any of the information I am looking for. Understood?"

"Aa," said Sakura, not sure if she wanted to drink the tea. As a medic-nin, she knew many truth serums were extremely harmful. She eyed her glass warily.

"You said you wanted to keep training," reminded Ibiki.

Sakura gulped and swallowed all the tea in one shot. She let out a ragged sigh when she finished swallowing. "Now what?"

"Now we wait for the drug. We'll begin talking now because any good interrogator will start the conversation before the drug takes effect in order to distract you as the symptoms become more noticeable. This way, by the time you notice you are drugged, it is too late to perform any counter measures. Remember that; it might save you one day. I will teach you those counter measures another time. For now, we'll pretend this is a worst case scenario."

"Okay. So what did you want to talk about?"

"Let's start with current events. I heard you got into a fight with Kakashi and almost kicked him out of your apartment."

Sakura looked stricken.

"Where did you hear that?" she demanded.

Ibiki smirked. "I have my sources, kiddo. So what happened?"

This really seemed like some weird gossip session better suited to one of her conversations with Ino. Whatever, Sakura was game.

"Well, he…"

'**_He's the enemy,"_** Inner Sakura sing-songed. **_'That's confidential info!'_**

'_Oh, yeah, that's right! We're not supposed to tell him anything,'_ Sakura thought. She was just about to spill the whole story, too. That was an extremely personal matter and she was about to blurt it out without the slightest thought otherwise. It seemed the drug took affect sooner than she expected. She hadn't even noticed the difference.

Ibiki was eying her expectantly, looking for any and every clue as to what she was thinking and probably picking up more information than she would have liked.

"Well," she continued finally, "the matter has been resolved, so it doesn't really matter does it?"

"I guess not. I bet he was really stupid and blurted out something he shouldn't have, right? He does that a lot."

"He does?"

"All the time. And then he makes up some quick lies to get him out of the situation. I've seen him do it on a number of occasions."

'_Could Kakashi-sempai have been lying when he told me he wanted to stay for more reasons than finishing the stupid mission?'_

'_**What? No! Focus on the enemy! He's trying to lower your guard.'**_

Sakura shook her head to dispel her thoughts and tried to keep the conversation going.

"But he's such a bad liar. You can always see right through his lies."

"Only when he doesn't care if you know the truth. He gets serious on missions and can lie with the best of them."

"You think?"

'_**You're falling for it, baka! He's lying!'**_

'_How can you be so sure?'_

'**_Because I have faith in Kakashi. He wouldn't lie to us about something like that!'_**

"I don't think, Sakura-chan. I know."

"Well, I suppose he should have lied that well when he was still with Team Seven. I might have a little more faith in him."

"What do you mean?"

"Just his usual habits. He wasn't very reliable."

"How so?"

"You just couldn't count on him to be there."

"Was he always letting you down?"

"You could see it that way."

She was pulling this stuff out of her ass. These were half-truths, if not outright lies. She wanted to just blurt out the whole sordid affair right here and now, but her wariness was saving her. She decided she needed a confidant. Then she wouldn't feel the need to bemoan her sensei, team, and overall life in general.

"I do see it that way. Kakashi has always been unreliable. The only thing you can count on him to do is fail."

'**_That's unfair and untrue! Dirty liar! Take it back!'_** Inner Sakura raged.

That's what Sakura wanted to say, but hearing her inner self say it made her realize that he wanted this type of reaction from her. She resisted her first instinct just barely and managed a nonchalant reply.

"If that's how you want to see him," she responded.

"Oh? And you have a different perception of him, Sakura-chan?"

"It's different than yours, yes."

And so it went. Ibiki tried to get her to give a straight answer and Sakura was saved time and time again by her inner self, wittingly or not, from giving him his information. She eventually figured out the trick to it. She had to give responses that left no room for counter questions. It was harder than she thought it would be and the hours passed slowly. Eventually, he called an end to the session and congratulated her on only messing up five times. He said that during her next training session, he would give her a stronger serum as well as teach her a few counter measures to this type of interrogation. She was not looking forward to it, having had enough trouble with the current serum, but was willing to get the vital experience.

He dismissed her with a smirk and she was out the door and out of the building in less than a minute. It was about twenty minutes after the one o'clock their training sessions were supposed to last, but she wasn't too concerned about it. It wasn't until she was halfway home that she realized she had almost completely forgotten the ordeal before the truth serum test.

"Arigatou, Ibiki-sensei," she said to the air. She had no doubt that somehow he would hear her words.

* * *

She was extremely tired by the time she reached her apartment. So tired, she was going to sleep on the couch. She didn't remember ever being this tired. Could it have been a side effect of the truth serum? Or maybe it was the day finally catching up to her? She entered her apartment through the living room window. She always locked her own. Maybe she should leave that one open as well.

She didn't bother turning on the light. She knew where everything was, even taking the new love seat into account. She reached her couch and flopped down. She was expecting the plush cushions to cradle her off to dreamland in ten seconds flat. She was not expecting a firm body to have already had the pleasure of such an occurrence before her.

Arms snaked around her waist and she screamed.

"Who the hell…"

"Sakura-chan, not so loud," Kakashi said. "You'll wake the dead."

She was wide awake now. Life just wasn't fair.

"Kakashi-sempai, what the hell are you still doing here?"

"Sleeping," she heard him yawn.

That said, he turned on his side, cuddled her close, and trapped her between his warm body and the back of the couch. She growled.

"Why can't you sleep in your own apartment?"

"Pakkun's wife's having puppies. I didn't want to listen to her bitch."

'_Was that a joke?'_ Sakura wondered.

"Fine, will you at least let me up? I'll go sleep in my room."

"Too sleepy…do it tomorrow."

"Kakashi-sempai, I'm serious," she whined. "Get up."

"No," he said softly, clearly about to fall back asleep. Sakura just didn't have the energy to yell at him again.

"Kakashi-sempai," she whined again, dragging his name out in hopes of annoying him into getting off of her.

She heard loud breathing on the verge of snoring issuing out of him. She let out an aggravated sigh and resigned herself to spending the night trapped underneath him. She lay down her head and attempted to get some sleep.

It was funny, and one of the worst occurrences ever to plague the race of man. As soon as she laid her head down to sleep, which her mind and body had been screaming for, she wasn't the least bit sleepy. She sighed again and stared into the darkness of her living room.

Kakashi's snoring wasn't the least bit soothing and was doing nothing to help her current state of insomnia. She suddenly felt very talkative, like she was at some strange sleepover, and this was the gossip and philosophical conversation before everyone went to bed.

She listened to his quiet snoring. He was dead to the world. She could talk all she wanted, confide anything she felt like, and he wouldn't remember a word of it. She rested her head in the crook of his neck and smiled.

"You know," she said quietly, trying not to wake him, "Team 7 was the first family I ever had. It was the first time I felt someone would always be there for me and love me unconditionally. I was so happy. Those night under the stars, all of us sleeping next to the other. I was fit to burst. It seemed like the whole world was singing this great, beautiful song and I was finally able to hear it. I would lie awake at night and just stare up at the star-filled sky and revel in it. I miss it so much."

She was so busy caught up in her story that she didn't notice his snoring had stopped.

"Everyone left. Even you, when you had no reason not to stay. Naruto at least had a good reason to leave. I was angry about that. I still kind of am. It's partly my fault, too, I guess. I never was enough of a reason to make anyone stay. Not even my own parents," she smiled sardonically.

"And now you're back and telling me that you want to stay. I don't know what to do. I'm confused. I don't think I could handle it if you were lying. I always thought that you lie so badly I could tell if you were lying. But, Ibiki-sensei says that you can lie with the best of them. But he wasn't telling the whole truth at the time either. I don't know what I should believe. Why can't everything be simple, like it was back then?"

"Will it ever be like that again? Even if we manage to get Sasuke back, it won't be the same. I still care for him, but I can't forgive him. I've _tried_, but I just _can't_. He tried to kill Naruto-kun. He broke our bond. I can't forgive that. I'm not even sure if I want to forgive that. I just…don't know what to do."

She heard him sigh. She gasped. He pulled her underneath him more and leaned in as close as he could get to her without actually becoming part of her skin.

"Why Sasuke in the first place?" he asked irritably. She wouldn't be hurting if she had crushed on someone, anyone, else.

"How long have you been awake?" she asked, mortified.

"I never went back to sleep. Answer the question."

"Well…"

"I'll pretend I'm asleep again if you're to shy to talk about it when I'm awake," he said kindly.

"It doesn't work that way, Baka-sempai," she huffed.

"What's so hard about it? Just give me a straight answer."

"Fine…I guess you could say it was because of my parents. The way they acted around one another, you could tell that the only thing they needed in life was each other. They lived for each other and they loved only each other. It was this deep love that was independent of all other things. The type of love that needs only itself and that is enough. It's a love so great that there wasn't room in their hearts for anyone else, ever. I wanted that for myself. This type of love went beyond friendship, so Ino was out of the question. I had to find someone who I could love with all my heart."

"And that was Sasuke?" he asked skeptically. Everyone knew the Uchiha survivor had problems with love. Hell, he had problems with emotions in general.

"Yeah. I had been looking and looking to find that one guy. Then, one day, a looked into his eyes. He was so sad and lonely."

"And you feel in love with _that_?"

"Yes. Well, no. Sort of. It was more of I wanted to help him. His eyes reminded me of how I was before I found Ino. I wanted to save him from his loneliness like Ino saved me. Then I thought- why not go the full way? So I tried to be his perfect girl, but he never noticed me. When we became a team, I thought I had found my chance, but I still came up lacking. Then, something strange happened. I started to fall in love with him for real. Before, I forced myself into thinking that I loved him. But, as I got to know him, I realized that how I felt before was nothing compared to what I was feeling then. That was about when he left."

"So now you know," she concluded.

"Do you still love him?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know."

'_That's a no, then,' _he thought to himself.

He rubbed her back and buried his nose in her wonderful hair.

"This love you seem to want so badly sounds good. But, you forget that if you give him all your heart, there'll be none left for the rest of us."

She inhaled sharply, very near a gasp.

"You're right," she said wonderingly. "I never thought of it that way. And I probably should have."

She knew first hand what being left out in love felt like. Maybe, she didn't want that type of love so much anymore.

"If Sasuke comes back, will you still love me?" he asked.

"Of course! I could never…"

"Never?" he prompted.

"I could never not love you," she finished with an amazed tone. "Kakashi-sempai! I just realized something!"

"Aa?" he asked calmly. Inside, his heart was soaring.

"My parents had it all wrong!" she said, still astounded by her assertion. She could never love just one person so completely. It wasn't her nature. She would love that special someone more than the rest, but she could never stop loving her friends for just that someone.

He chuckled at her and snuggled in a little more. "Yes, they did."

And he couldn't be happier for it.

He heard Sakura yawn and had to suppress one of his own.

"It's late, Sakura. Let's get some sleep. For real this time."

Sakura yawned again. "Yosh."

She tangled her fingers into the front of his mesh shirt and snuggled in as well. If he wasn't going to let her up, she might as well enjoy the company. She was soon asleep, breathing in his unique scent of sandalwood with the slightest hint of lavender.

He smiled down at her, her actions making his heart flutter. Wait. Flutter?

Her breathing evened out as she was soon in a deep sleep. She must have worked herself hard in her training, he decided. He sighed contentedly and inhaled her soothing scent, cherry blossoms after the rain.

"What are you doing to me, Sakura?" he whispered just before he fell asleep holding her to him as if his life depended on it.

* * *

"Kakashi."

His eyebrow furrowed.

"Kakashi."

His jounin instincts kicked in and he was awake in an instant. Thanks to said jounin instincts, he was also able to remain still so as not to wake Sakura.

"What is it Pakkun?"

"Wow, you must really be out of it if I had to call your name twice."

Kakashi looked at the ninken lazily. The little pug then noticed the Copy-nin was holding a woman.

"Oh," said the pug cheekily. "A woman. That explains it. Who's the lucky gal?"

The pug hopped up on the couch and his face fell.

"Oh, Kakashi, not Sakura-chan."

"It's not what you think," he said irritably. The little ninken had woken him up from what was possibly the best sleep he had ever gotten. "Why are you here, Pakkun?"

The little dog perked up as he remembered why he had tracked Kakashi down.

"Five pups," he said proudly. "Five!"

"Congratulations," the Copy-nin said before burying his nose into Sakura's hair again.

'_It's not what I think, eh, Kakashi?'_ the pug thought.

"Thank you. The wife wanted me to tell you thanks for the use of your apartment. I don't know why she needed your whole apartment as a suitable nest, but there it is."

"Alright, Pakkun. Will she be needing the apartment still?"

"Yeah, that's the other part of what she wanted me to tell you. She's keeping your apartment for a couple of months."

"That's fine," Kakashi mumbled into pink hair. "I've already moved all the necessaries."

"To here?" Pakkun asked skeptically.

"Yes, here. Is there a problem with that?"

"This is Sakura's apartment."

"I'm sure she won't mind my crashing here for a while."

"She won't mind or are you just not going to tell her?" asked the put-out pug.

"Goodnight, Pakkun."

The dog sighed and made to leave. "Goodnight, Kakashi."

After the dog was gone, Kakashi settled in on top of Sakura and went back to sleep.

* * *

Sakura woke up to the sun in her face. She sighed contentedly at the warmth, but it was a sign that she had to get up. She opened her eyes to stare at mesh over skin.

'_What? Where am I?'_

The memories of last night came back to her and she groaned. She hadn't meant to confess all her worries to Kakashi, at least not while he was awake.

"Ohayou to you, too, Sakura-chan," he chuckled.

She looked up at him blearily. His hitai-ate was missing, but his mask was still in place. His hair fell in his face. It really needed a trim because some of it was long enough to tickle her nose. He was still on top of her. He smiled down at her and she groaned.

"I have a crick in my neck and my lower back hurts. What's so good about it?" she moaned.

"You woke up next to the great Copy-nin," he said arrogantly.

"I didn't have a choice," she said. She wriggled underneath him, trying to get out and get ready for work. He wasn't helping, choosing instead to put his full weight on her and remain lifeless.

"Kakashi-sempai, I have to get ready for work. Get off," she ordered, trying to push him off. If he didn't get off soon, she would use her monster strength to make him get off.

"What if I don't want to?"

"I'll knee you where it hurts," she threatened.

"Are you always so violent in the morning, Sakura-chan?"

"Yes," she yawned. "Now get off."

He lazily turned the two to where she was on top and he was on bottom. She squeaked as he did so, not expecting the movement.

"I'm off. Now what?"

He had his arms firmly around her waist. And he wasn't letting her up. She pushed against his chest and he smiled up at her. She had her chest up and away from him, but she couldn't manage to get anything below her waist away. She finally just gave up and slumped on top of him. He chuckled.

"You know, I think I liked it better when you were "hands off or I'll kill you" Kakashi-sempai. You're way too touchy-feely in the morning."

He looked up at the ceiling in mock contemplation. "And I think I liked you better as the sweet little twelve-year-old who always looked up to me and never talked back. Whatever happened to her, I wonder."

"She grew up and got a part-time job at Konoha hospital, which she really needs to get ready for."

He still looked nonplussed.

"Please, Kakashi-sempai," she begged, giving him those cute puppy-dog eyes.

He sighed and released her. She cheered happily at getting her way. She gave him a quick peck on the forehead and was in her bathroom in two seconds flat. He guessed he really was making her late. He shrugged off the slight guilt and opened up his book, settling in to wait for breakfast.

She was whistling when she stepped out from her shower. She was brushing out her hair when she walked into the living room.

"Hey, Kakashi-sempai, do you know whose toothbrush that is in the bathroom?" she asked curiously

"Mine," he replied simply, head in his book again.

"Why is your toothbrush in my bathroom?"

"So I can brush my teeth," he said, as if she were stupid.

"Shouldn't it be, oh, I don't know, over at _your _apartment maybe?"

"But I never eat over there."

Sakura let out a long-suffering sigh. First the love seat and now his toothbrush. What next? His bed? He already slept at her apartment. Would he end up showering here as well? She didn't want to share a bathroom. They would have to sit down and have a talk about what was appropriate to do at others' apartments. After her work at the hospital.

She went to make breakfast. He followed her, sitting in his usual spot across from hers.

"Waffles okay with you?" she asked, turning to look at him.

He nodded and continued reading. She shook her head at him and took out everything she would need. Thirty minutes later, she had a large stack of waffles that was quickly disappearing into Kakashi's gullet. Yet, he never removed his mask. She saw him chewing the food as well as swallowing and the pile got smaller and smaller. It had to be a transportation jutsu, she decided. Nobody was that fast.

She finished her considerably smaller portion and was soon making the final preparations to leave. He lazily watched her from the table. She took a final look around and nodded to herself.

"Well, Kakashi-sempai, if you're still going to be here, I'll be back at about five. Ja ne," she said with a wave and was in the hallway before he could reply.

"Ja ne," he called out to her, leaning to try and catch a last glimpse of her. He heard the door open and shut and the lock click into place.

What should he do today? She would be at the hospital the whole day. Nothing could happen to her there, so he didn't have to watch her. He decided he would spend the day training. He got up slowly from the table, put his book in his pocket and left through her living room window.

* * *

"I need three grams of morphine and some stitches over here!" yelled one nurse.

The hospital was in chaos. An hour after Sakura had arrived, a team of ANBU came in looking like they had been through a hurricane. There was blood everywhere. They had completed their mission, but they were all on the verge of death. Tsunade was called in to operate, as well as Shizune. Both would take lead in two of the four required surgeries. Sakura would take lead on the other two in the double-op room built specifically for her.

The double-operation room was new and the seals freshly painted, still smelling acrid to her nose. She hadn't meant to stand out from the other medics and she really hadn't meant to get operating rooms built especially for her talents. It was really an accident that Tsunade had noticed her ability to heal two people at once. It was all Inner Sakura's fault. It had been a hectic day much like this one. There were too many that needed healing and not enough doctors present to lead the healing.

"Sakura-sama, Sakura-sama!" a young nurse had screamed at her. She was busy healing a patient and she could only devote half her mind to the nurse. She was wheeling in another patient with a gaping hole in his stomach. He had been bleeding profusely. But then, so had her current patient.

"Sakura-sama, you have to heal him!"

"I'm busy. Get Nomichi to do it."

"He's low on chakra and passed out after his last patient was healed. Please, Sakura-sama. He's going to die if you don't!"

The nurse had been crying then. She found out later that the man was the nurse's brother. She had sighed and placed a healing hand on each patient. She asked Inner Sakura to take care of her former patient while she worked on the new one. She had saved them both, much to the nurse's relief.

Sakura had not expected Tsunade to be watching her. She had been called in to help with the load, much like she was today, and had seen the whole thing. She had berated Sakura for keeping such an ability quiet, but Sakura had explained that it was the first time she tried it in action. As punishment, Sakura had to heal all her next patients in pairs of two simultaneously. It was a trial under fire for her, but she managed to save all her patients. After that, Tsunade had worked with her to perfect the ability. Now she could perform surgery on two people at once, as she was doing right now.

"Close up that hole, Nimura," she said, working on one ANBU with three four inch punctures: one near his clavicle, one to his intestines, and the last through his ribs and lung. Nimura was working on the intestines, desperately trying to sew up the tears and kill off the e-coli. Sakura was working on the puncture to the ribs and lung. He was in danger of drowning in his own blood and he kept coughing it up. She siphoned the blood out of his lungs and healed the walls to prevent further bleeding, all the while monitoring the other medics' progress. She set the rib and began healing it. He had lost a lot of blood and it was iffy if his heart could take much more. The two medics working on his clavicle had managed to heal all the blood vessels and stop the bleeding. Now they were working on rebuilding healthy nerve connections, sinew and muscle. As she finished doing the same for her part, she went on to help Nimura and the five other medics working to keep the e-coli and other bacteria from killing the ANBU.

'_**Taka, keep that blood flowing!'**_

Sakura passed on Inner Sakura's critique. Inner Sakura was currently working on the worse of the two. He had numerous deep lacerations and was poisoned to boot. He was in severe risk of his spleen rupturing as his body tried to fight the poison, and his heart wasn't helping. It pumped faster to make up for the loss of blood and only spread the poison faster. He was also having an allergic reaction to the poison. The platelets were going crazy and coming together to form clots. It was all the other eight medics could do to keep his blood from clotting and causing a seizure or heart attack. This patient needed more attention and she switched patients with Inner Sakura. Inner Sakura had almost completely healed all the flesh wounds. Sakura finished healing them as quickly as she could while the poison started to attack his nervous system as well. She had to make a choice. She appointed two other medics to help her extract the poison. It was a race against time as the blood continued to clot and his heart raced. Six medics were not enough to keep his whole system free of clots. They managed to extract almost all of the poison with minimal damage. Then his spleen ruptured.

"Shimatta! Taka, finish extracting. Eri and Fuwari, help me heal this. The rest of you, keep him from clotting."

'_**Heart rate stabilizing. All vital signs are in the green. He's going to be okay. Let me help you!'**_

She passed on Inner Sakura's assessment and turned her full attention to the other ANBU. Having Inner Sakura with her was like having another medic.

"Eri and Fuwari, why are you just sitting there?"

"We don't know how to help this, Sakura-sama."

"Fine, just follow my instructions. Begin to slowly heal the outside tissue, while I push some of the fluids back in. I'll contain all the fluid so it won't infect the body. Don't let any escape. Burn any bacteria or viruses you find. That's it. Slower, Eri. Yes, good."

"He's having a heart attack!" screamed one medic.

"Kuso! Fuwari, take over for me!"

"Hai!"

"Find the clot now!"

"It's in his heart!"

"He's got two in his brain as well. He's seizuring!"

"Break down those clots!"

"He's gone into cardiac arrest!"

"His cerebellum is losing chakra fast!"

"The spleen's ruptured again!"

'_Inner me, take the spleen!'_

'_**Yosh!'**_

"Close it up like last time! I'll help! Start pumping his heart manually!"

"We can't! The clot won't break down!"

"Then get the damn thing out manually! Three quarter incision to the left ventricle! Pull it out quickly!"

His blood was everywhere as she cut through bone and tissue to get to the heart. She tried to keep it his system, but it wouldn't stay. She quickly pulled out to grape size clot and sewed him back up.

"Now get his heart beating! How long has it been stopped?"

"Seven minutes!"

"It won't pump on its own!"

"Three more clots in his brain!"

"Keep pumping! The rest of you work on his clots!"

"The spleen's ruptured again!"

"I'll take care of it. You work on his clots!"

She spent the time on his spleen with Inner Sakura. She patched it up and reinforced the walls with chakra. It was a slow process, but hopefully this would ensure it wouldn't burst again.

"We've got the clots undone, but his heart still won't start!"

"Time?"

"Twenty minutes."

She pumped chakra into the ANBU's heart, trying to get it to jumpstart and pump on its own. Shimatta! Shimatta!

"Twenty-five minutes. Sakura-sama, we have to call it," Eri said sadly.

Sakura removed her hand from the seal on the floor. "Shimatta."

She turned to the other ANBU. "Status?" she asked.

"All vitals are good and his condition is stable, Sakura-sama. He'll be fine," said Nimura quietly, their victory overshadowed by their failure.

"Alright. Kumi and Furita, take him to his room, please," she asked quietly.

"Hai, Sakura-sama."

"Right away, Sakura-sama."

She watched them place the healed ANBU on a stretcher and wheel him out. She looked at the lifeless form of the other.

"The rest of you are dismissed. Attend to your normal duties," she ordered softly.

"Hai, Sakura-sama," they all said as one. She had them trained well. They started to file out of the room. Eri hung back.

"Sakura-sama, aren't you going to come as well?" she asked hesitantly.

Sakura turned and smiled winningly at the girl. "Hai, Eri. I'll just clean up in here. I'll be out soon."

"H-hai, Sakura-sama," she said and rushed out with the other nurses.

Sakura sighed and approached the corpse. She lifted his ANBU mask from his head. It was slightly askew to allow him to breathe better, but was left on in case he lived. He was young, probably around Kakashi's age. She sighed and walked over to turn on the overhead lights. The glowing green seals on the floor ceased glowing as she deactivated them next. She picked up the corpse bridal style and set it on the gurney. Rigor mortis was already beginning to set in. She lifted the sheet over the body and just stared for a moment.

'**_Just don't think about it,'_** Inner Sakura advised.

'_Then when do I think about it. These things don't just go away. You know that.'_

'_**It's too close now and we still have lots of work to do. Think about it later.'**_

She wheeled the corpse out in the hall and then returned to the room.

Sakura took up a hose in the corner and turned it on. She then washed the blood and gore from the floor. She added some powerful disinfectant to the water and scrubbed with a mop that was in the corner. Once that was done, she rinsed the disinfectant away. She performed a simple jutsu, her own creation that concentrated all the left over water into a ball, which she sent down the drain. The double-op room was ready for its next patient.

Sakura turned to leave, but gave one last look over her shoulder. How many people had died in this room? Too many. Far too many. She turned the light off and left.

"Sakura-sama!"

"What now?" she asked the heavens.

"We've got a four-man team of chunin back and Tsunade needs you. They look pretty bad," said the frantic nurse.

"Where are they?"

"The front desk. Tsunade and Shizune are still in surgery. Tsunade said that you'd have to handle it alone."

"Gather anyone with enough chakra left to heal and send them to me," she ordered. Then she took off running for the front desk, dodging stretchers and nurses all the way.

'_When it rains, it pours.'_

When she reached the front desk, she decided she was sick of the sight of blood. There were puddles of it and she had to be careful not to slip. She was happy to see some of her medics there.

"What's the situation?" she asked, coming up to kneel next to Taka, who was trying to get a chunin on a stretcher. She deftly picked the girl up and placed her on the stretcher.

"The girl only has minor wounds. We're sending her to a room. The other three are in critical condition. I don't think the blonde's going to make it. We didn't want to move him until you got here."

She nodded and placed a hand on the blonde and another chunin. A quick scan told her they were both in a horrible state. She did a quick scan of the last one and gave a sigh of relief. His only problem was flesh wounds. The other two needed more attention.

"Operating rooms three, seven, and eight are open," said the receptionist.

"Take this one," she said, indicating the one with only flesh wounds, "to number three."

"And the other two?"

"There's no time," she said, already cutting through the uniforms of both of them. "We've got to operate here."

"Here! But there are no seals here!" Taka yelled.

Sakura quickly performed a jutsu and slapped both hands on the tile. "Ninpo: Circle of Heaven!"

Two seals appeared before her, one under each hand. They weren't permanent, as they would be if she had written them out, and they were draining her chakra, but it was necessary.

"Any other objections?"

Taka shook his head.

"Sakura-sama, you needed us?" asked a medic, followed by about ten others.

"I need eight medics for each circle here and I need eight to go to operation room three with that one," she said, nodding her head at the male chunin who was on the stretcher. She was carefully moving the blonde to one of her seals as Taka moved the other one.

"Taka will lead in operation room three, now go!"

"What? But, Sakura-sama, I can't…" Taka objected.

"You'll do just fine, Taka-kun," Sakura assured. "It's just a simple stitching and should take less than five minutes, but it needs to be done now, before he bleeds to death. I have faith in you. Now go!"

Taka blushed. "Arigatou, Sakura-sama," he said and rushed after the medics who were already wheeling the chunin away.

"The rest of you take your positions!"

"But who will take lead on the other seal?" asked one of the newer medics.

"I'll lead both of them. Now let's move people!"

The medics got into position around her. Kumi and Eri were present on her left and Nimura was on her right, but all the other medics had never done this before.

"Here's how it works: left seal is A and Right seal is B; you are assigned numbers in a clockwise direction from myself, starting at one; I am number nine and I tell you what to do; don't question me because I know what I am doing. A1 and A2, begin healing the internal bleeding in the abdominal area. A3, A4, and A5, heal vertebra fourteen. A6 and A7, begin restructuring the kidney. A8, help me heal the skull."

This was the blond. He was pretty bad off. His left kidney was nothing but mush and his entire waist was a mass of internal bleeding. One of his vertebrae had been crushed from blunt force. His skull had been pounded in and there was a good chance some shards from the fracture had embedded into his brain. If they got to it quick enough, they might be able to minimize the brain damage. It they slipped, he would die. The fracture was far too close to his brain stem for her liking.

"B1 and B2, work on the ribs. B3, B4, B5, and B6, work on closing that wound. B7, keep his heart steady. B8, work on keeping him disinfected. Kill all bacteria and any virus you come across. I'll be going in between all of you, so don't get spooked by my chakra."

Patient B just looked really bad. He had a deep slash from his hip bone to his shoulder. You could see his innards. His intestines were cut as were his stomach and liver. The white bone of his ribs and breast bone was cut as well, exposing the marrow. He could be stitched together in no time. It was her heart she was worried about. It couldn't keep a normal rhythm and that was never a good sign.

'_Inner me, you take B. I'll take Blondie.'_

'_**Shannaro! Let's do some healing!'**_

Sakura ran a quick check over how everyone was doing. They were repairing the vertebra nicely. The kidney was coming along slowly, but surely. She focused on the fracture to his brain. The medic she had designated to this task was slowly pulling the shards that weren't dangerous back into their proper places.

'_**No, no! B3 take the bottom quarter, B4 take the next quarter, B5 the quarter after that, and B6 the top quarter! Be methodical people!'**_

Sakura passed on Inner Sakura's instructions. She then started to pull out the shards next to his brain stem. She had to be careful to follow the same path as the shards had going in or else she could cause more damage and kill him.

"A8, heal after I pull the shards out. A1, help A3 through A5 after you finish. A2, help A6 and A7."

She pulled out the final shard, which was incredibly close to his brain stem. It was pure luck he wasn't dead yet. She pulled it out and…

"His heart rate is sky-rocketing!"

"Shimatta! A6 and A7, keep his heart under control. A8, make sure he keeps breathing!"

She frantically scanned his brain to see what she missed. There it was! A shard no bigger than the tip of a needle, but still big enough to severe cells. She must have shifted it when she pulled the last shard out. She pulled this new shard out and then tried desperately to heal the damage she had done in her negligence.

'_Don't die! Don't die!'_

"We can't stop his heart!"

"It's about to explode!"

"His throat's seized up. He can't breathe!"

"Kuso!"

She pushed her chakra to his heart to keep it from exploding while she continued healing his brain stem. She hit the damn reticular formation.

She had just touched his heart when it exploded. His whole heart caved in on itself when his right atrium ruptured in a bloody mess.

"Shimatta!" She yelled in frustration and helplessness. "Call it," she said sadly.

"Time of death: ten-thirty in the morning of…"

'_**No, you idiots! You're doing fine! Don't worry about the other patient!'**_

She tuned Kumi out and turned to the other chunin under her care. She relayed Inner Sakura's order and got to healing. With her full attention and skill, the man was fit in less than twenty minutes. She rubbed the sweat from her forehead and dismissed the two teams. Eri and Kumi had already prepared the body for the morgue. She thanked them and picked the corpse up and set it on the stretcher, White sheet and all. The medic team of the surviving chunin already had him in the care of a nurse, who was wheeling him away to his room. The medics gathered around her.

"Good job. All of you. You are dismissed to your normal duties," she said quietly.

"Hai, Sakura-sama," they all said, except for the newbie, who didn't really say anything.

She didn't watch them go and instead opted to release the seals which continued to slowly drain her of chakra.

A nurse can to take away the body of the chunin who didn't make it and she told her of the ANBU member who was still in the hall, but the nurse said that she had already taken care of that on Hokage's orders. Sakura thanked her and she left. Sakura stared at the turquoise floor covered in blood. It was all her…

"It's not your fault."

Sakura turned around sharply to see Tsunade leaning against the wall. When did she get here?

"There was no way you could have noticed that last shard with hidden with all the others. Kumi said that if it hadn't been for that last one, he probably would have survived."

"I should have noticed it, though. It wasn't so small. He didn't have to die!" she yelled at herself.

Tsunade came over and placed a hand on her apprentice's shoulder.

"Sakura-chan, these things happen. No one can stop it. You saved two lives today."

"I could have saved more. I lost two today."

Tsunade sighed. The girl was just plain stubborn.

"Sakura-chan, out of all the medics under your command, do you expect any of them to do a better job than what you just did. How many do you think would have been saved if you weren't here today?"

Sakura didn't say anything. She knew Tsunade was right. She had done the best she could, which was a lot more than what others could do. But, it still wasn't enough.

"Taka told me you gave him lead on the other chunin. Good choice, by the way. I've been meaning to try him out on lead. Did you really tell him that _that_ operation was a simple stitching job?"

"It was a simple stitching job," she said, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

Tsunade shook her head and chuckled. "Only to you, Sakura-chan. Any decent medic would have a horrible time with that one. It was far from simple for Taka."

"How did he do?" she asked quietly, still feeling a little guilty.

"He's exhausted, but he got the job done quite nicely. He's a little mad at you now because he thinks you lied about it being simple," she chuckled again. "But, he's also very proud of his accomplishment. You should congratulate him. I sent him down to the break room, where I'm sending you right now."

"But I've still…"

"No, you used up a lot of chakra with that little seal trick you pulled. I have another ANBU team coming in at about six today. I want you here and well rested. Conserve your chakra the rest of the day. Understood?"

"Hai, Tsunade-shishou," she agreed reluctantly.

Tsunade laughed. "That's my girl. Just for that, you can keep up your normal rounds, but no healing. Okay?"

"Yosh!" she said happily.

* * *

Sakura had spent the rest of her day checking up on her normal patients, releasing a few and taking on more. She used only her skills as a doctor, not as a medic, which was a wonderful challenge for her, and she enjoyed it greatly. She knew she had told Kakashi that she would be home by five, but she was on Hokage's orders. Besides, it wouldn't kill him to wait. How many times had she waited on him back in the old days? Turnabout was fair play. But her bleeding conscience got in the way. She thought about calling him, but decided against it. He probably wouldn't be waiting for her anyway.

The ANBU team came in later than expected. It was seven-thirty. The good thing about this was that only one of the members of the team needed surgery. The rest could be healed by lone medics. She left it in the hands of Nomichi, the fourth in line in the medic hierarchy, his only betters being Tsunade, Shizune, and herself. She took a team of medics, now working with the night shift, with her to Operating room seven.

The operation was going well. All the poison had been extracted, his intestines closed with no bacterial infection. His head wound was healed and there was no sign of swelling. All that was left was to close up the stomach and the rest of his flesh wounds. She had one medic monitoring his heart, another keeping tabs on his brain, one checking for and eliminating infection, and four of the rest stitching up the wounds. She had one of the newer medics helping her close his stomach. The gastric acids were leaking out and destroying any surrounding tissue, so she was healing that while Raki closed the walls of the stomach. But, the girl could not seem to get it right. She kept pulling the wall into bulges, which would form ulcers in time. Sakura had to keep correcting her.

"Gomen nasai, Sakura-sama," the girl said for the third time.

"This is simple, Raki-chan. Don't be sorry; just get it right!"

"H-hai, Sakura-sama."

The girl was so out of it that she slipped and actually cut through the stomach.

"Shimatta!"

That was a chakra cut and would be hard to heal.

"Gomen nasai masu, Sakura-sama."

"Out!"

"N-nani?"

"If you can't do it right, I want you out of my operating room. Wait outside," she told the shaking girl sternly.

The rest of the medics paused in their work as she got up to leave, but Sakura scolded than and they were soon at work again. She used Inner Sakura to complete the job.

'**_We're running low on chakra. Those seals took more out us than we thought,' _**Inner Sakura informed. It was true. Sakura was about to faint in the middle of the operation.

'_Don't worry. I think it's about time we put this tattoo to good use.'_

'_**Shannaro!'**_

Sakura reached out to the chakra stored in her heart. She felt the chakra sweep through her body and rejuvenate her. She also felt something else, for just the briefest moment, but unmistakable, enrapturing. Something that was beyond her. Something that sang.

But, the wonderful feeling was gone too soon to make anything out of it and she didn't have time to stop and think about it.

With her newfound chakra, she quickly finished healing the ANBU. He was wheeled out as soon as she could manage and she quickly cleaned the room up with the help of a few of her fellow medics. She started to fill out the medical report for the operation as she walked out of the room. She glanced up as she came into the hall. Raki was there, looking down shamefully.

'_At least she has enough discipline to stay for her scolding,' _Sakura sighed mentally. _'I hate this part.'_

She put the paperwork under her arm and motioned for the girl to follow her to a less public hallway. Sakura turned to the woman who was two inches taller than her and let her have it.

"Just what do you think you were doing in there?" she asked sternly.

"Gomen, Sakura-sama," the girl bowed. "I haven't been myself lately. Please, don't demote me. I love my job! I just can't seem to focus today. Gomen! Forgive me! Please, Sakura-sama."

Sakura was very uncomfortable and her face showed it. The girl was crying and practically begging. This woman who was four years her senior was bowing done to her and pleading for her job. There was just something wrong with that. Perhaps Sakura had been a little too stern. She sighed and smiled awkwardly at the medic.

"It's okay, Raki-chan," she soothed. "We all have our off days. Even me. You just have to try to not mess up again when you do mess up."

"So," Raki sniffed hopefully. "I'm not going to lose my job as a medic?"

Sakura chuckled. "Taka's been hazing the newbies again, I see."

The girl blushed.

"Here at Konoha Hospital," Sakura explained kindly, "we have a three strike rule. Once you've been called out three times, you are demoted to medic-in-training and have the status of a nurse. However, you can always work your way back up to medic status."

"So, I won't lose my job even if I get demoted?" she asked hopefully, eyes still a little teary.

"Even if you get demoted," Sakura smiled. "And you won't get demoted at all as long as you aren't called out again. You just need a little more practice and a little more confidence in yourself. I suggest you put in some extra training and work hard. That's all you really need."

"Really?"

"Really," Sakura agreed.

"Arigatou gozai masu, Sakura-sama!" the girl exclaimed as she pounced on Sakura and gave her a big hug. Sakura patted her back awkwardly.

"No problem."

"Taka said you were really scary, but you're actually really nice," the girl said, letting go.

"Yeah, well, don't believe everything Taka tells you," she frowned good-naturedly.

"Arigatou, Sakura-sama! Arigatou," the girl bowed furiously.

"Just get back to work," Sakura said fondly. "And don't get called out again, okay?"

"Hai, Sakura-sama!"

The girl went off to make her own rounds for the night and Sakura slumped against the wall. How did she get herself into these situations? She took up her paperwork again and finished filling it out on her way to the front door.

She was ready to go home and get something to eat, or maybe just sleep. She wandered up to the front desk, where Mikita sat filing away reports. They were behind from the rush earlier today and Mikita was still filing away her reports on the four operations she had performed earlier.

"Sakura-chan," she greeted. "My, you've had a busy day, girl. Two double-ops? With one being an impromptu seal creation? How are you still standing?"

"Hey, Miki-chan," she replied. "I have my ways. Here's the paperwork for the last operation."

"Thanks," Mikita said, taking the paperwork from her. Sakura leaned against the counter and filled in her time out in the time log.

"Oh, by the way. This really strange shinobi came here looking for you," Mikita said happily.

"Strange shinobi?"

"Yeah! At first I thought he was old because he had silver hair and slumped like he had a bad back, but when I called him an old man, he practically bit my head off, the jerk. I asked him why he was here and he said he was looking for you. He said he was worried you were late. I told him that you were operating at the moment, which you were, and that he would just have to wait. He rubbed the back of his head and said he would wait at home. Sakura, are you seeing him?" she asked, twiddling her pinky finger at Sakura.

"What? No! That was Kakashi-sempai. You know- my former sensei."

"The one that abandoned you?" she frowned.

"Ano…sort of," she said, scratching the side of her face sheepishly.

"I didn't like him," she said, immediately judging him.

"Don't be that way, Miki-chan. He's really…" She tried to find a trait that would appeal to Mikita, but she just couldn't think of any. Perpetually late? Quiet? Reserved? Clingy? "…loyal once you get to know him."

"That's the best you could come up with? Loyal?" her friend deadpanned.

"Well…what time did he show up?" she asked, trying to change the subject. "Do you remember?"

"At about eight o'clock. Why?"

Sakura's face fell. "It took him three hours to notice I was late?"

"I think you should break up with him," Mikita advised.

"We're not together, Miki-chan," she said tiredly.

"Sure you're not," Mikita said, not believing a word of it.

"We're not," she said calmly. "That would just be…weird. Disturbing."

"If you say so, Sakura-chan," Mikita laughed at Sakura's wincing face.

"What time is it now?"

"Eight thirty-six," said Mikita with a smile.

"Wow. A whole hour for such a simple operation," she yawned.

"You should go home and get some rest, Sakura-chan," Mikita advised with concern.

"You don't have to tell me twice. I'll see you tomorrow, Miki-chan,"

"See you," the receptionist said, returning to her filing.

Sakura smiled and headed home.

* * *

Kakashi was waiting for her when she got home at nine. With two bowls of steaming ramen no less. She almost fainted at the sight.

'_There's no way he did that for me.'_

"Is that Ichiraku takeout?"

"Hai," he answered with a smile that made his eye crinkle. "For my hardworking kunoichi."

Sakura was touched. She really was. She sat down at her table with tears in her eyes. She gave a great sniff and Kakashi frowned.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" he asked with concern.

"It's been a long day. You don't know what it means to me to have food waiting when I get home."

He smiled at her as she wiped away her tears and broke her chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu," she said gratefully.

"Itadakimasu," he said as well.

They ate together quietly until Kakashi brought up a problem.

"I'm still out of your alarm system, Sakura-chan."

"That's not what this meal is for is it?" she said suspiciously. "You aren't just trying to butter me up?"

"Only partly. I knew you wouldn't feel like cooking, and I was hungry. You were just an afterthought," he joked.

Nice to know I'm important," she said sarcastically.

She finished her meal quickly and made her way to her bedroom, looking dazed and a little sad.

"Where are you going, Sakura-chan?"

"To bed. Where does it look like I'm going?"

"So early?"

"It was a long day," she concluded. "Goodnight, Kaka-sempai," she smiled.

"Goodnight, Sakura-chan."

He stared after her long after he heard her door close. Had she been half asleep when she had said that? No, she had been fully awake, if a little out of it. She had used his nickname wittingly again. He was bursting with joy. Maybe he should "make" dinner more often.

After he was done with his ramen, he came over and lay down on the couch for a good read before bed. Now that he thought about it, her couch wasn't really comfortable without her in it with him. He tossed and turned trying to find a comfortable spot. Maybe if he took of his flak jacket? He removed the item, but still couldn't find a comfy position.

Hm. Maybe he could smuggle his bad into her spare room while she was gone tomorrow.

* * *

Tiger-san cooed at her when she walked in, empathically feeling the sadness that exuded from her in waves. She rubbed the sweet plant's head and gave him a peppermint. She then slipped into her night clothes and sat staring out the window at the stars. There was nothing to occupy her mind, so it automatically returned to the two men that had died today.

'**_What the hell happened to not thinking about it?'_** Inner Sakura complained.

"I have to think about it some time. Now's as good a time as any."

Inner Sakura had nothing to say to that, but she did sulk in the back of Sakura's mind.

There was guilt, frustration, an overall feeling of uselessness. She could have saved them. It was within her abilities. She just wasn't capable enough. It didn't matter what Tsunade said, it was still her fault those two men had died. It was her fault she wasn't enough to save them. She decided to get in some extra training after her work at the hospital. Gai-sensei and Lee-kun would be training tomorrow, she knew. She would ask them for a session and then she would work on her chakra control with them. It was all she could do to get better, increase her chakra capacity and control. She had already gone over every mistake twice in the operations while she had waited for the last ANBU team to come in.

With a plan formed, her mind was able to calm down. She lay down and tried to get some sleep. She would need all her chakra tomorrow.

* * *

She woke up with a gasp. It would have been a scream if she had not had this type of dream before. Nightmares really. Voices that spoke from under white sheets and glazed eyes that didn't see. She had no chakra to speak of. There was so much blood, all of it seemingly coming from her hands. It was all her fault.

She raised her stainless hands in front of her face, breathing raggedly. There was no blood. Kami-sama, it was just a dream. She shook it off and got up from her bed. She was sweating and her throat was dry. She opened her window and stepped out. The cool breeze calmed her nerves. She sat down on the balcony and stared at the stars, settling for a long wait. There would be no sleeping tonight.

* * *

She stepped into the living room just before sunrise. He felt her enter and was instantly awake, although he pretended to sleep on. She gave him a curious look and then went to stand by the window. She stared out of it at the black night. She stayed there until she saw the dim rays of the coming sunrise. She gave a nod of her head as if she had been making sure the sun would rise again and was satisfied with the warm rays peeking above the horizon.

She then turned from the window and went into the kitchen. She got out what he thought was a frying pan and some eggs. She was going to make breakfast, he realized. She began be letting the pan get hot on the fire and then cracked the eggs and let them slip into the pan to cook. She added pepper and salt and waited. Then she got out a spatula and flipped the eggs over. She cursed at something. Apparently they hadn't turned out the way she wanted them. She swore again and dumped the contents down the sink. She couldn't have screwed up as bad as to just throw them out. She had angry and disgusted look on her face. Was she mad at the eggs or herself?

He was curious and decided to stop feigning sleep in favor of seeing just what she was up to. She didn't notice him get up and move over to her.

She took out two more eggs and repeated the same process over again. She flipped the eggs again and swore once more. She emptied this batch out in the sink with more force than the last time. She slammed the pan back on the fire and took out two more eggs.

She did the same thing and this time Kakashi was close enough to see what she was doing. She was making eggs over easy, he realized. She flipped these new two and he saw the yolk break and run in one. She swore again and threw the pan across the counter. She also threw the spatula and Kakashi was surprised to see it embed itself into the wall by about two inches, the handle waving back and forth with the force of the impact.

"Shimatta! Why can't I do this! It's not that hard! Why can't I get it right?"

"Sakura-chan, no one's perfect," he said softly, coming up behind her and placing his hands comfortingly on her shoulders. "You can't always do everything perfe…"

"When I can't do something right, people die!" She turned to scream at him and brushed off his hands. She was about to cry, he saw. She was immediately sorry for yelling at him and turned back around, figure slouching in shame and resentment. Kakashi frowned.

He leaned forward and took her chin in his hand, turning her to face him. She still wouldn't meet his eye. He placed a palm on either of her cheeks and sighed, finally noticing the dark rings around her eyes. He ran his thumbs along them. She must not have gotten any sleep last night.

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

She still wouldn't meet his eye.

"Look at me, Sakura," he commanded firmly, leaving no room for argument. She raised her eyes to look into his and he saw it there. Guilt, very akin to his own.

He was surprised and his eye showed it. She lowered her eyes regretfully, ashamed that he had found out. She was supposed to be happy Sakura, who all could turn to for cheer. It wasn't like that at all.

"What happened?" he asked softly.

"I lost two patients yesterday," she said quietly.

His thumbs continued to trace the circles around her eyes, brushing away the tears that had yet to fall at the same time.

"I shouldn't have lost them at all. If I was a better medic, they would be alive right now."

How many times had he said something similar? If I was a better friend, he wouldn't have died. If I was a better shinobi, they would still be alive. If I was a better teacher, this wouldn't have happened. If I was, if I was…

She was too young to have these thoughts. But then, he had been younger, had he not? But, that didn't mean he wanted her to feel that way. He had tried his hardest to keep her free of the claws of guilt, but guilt had still managed to take hold of her and was already starting to leave scars.

"I know you think I don't know anyone on the memorial," she whispered. "But, I do. Minori Kenji, Arakawa Heidou, Higurashi Shigure, Takahashi Ayame, Takeshi Kairi, Higoku Ume, Minoichi Yashamaru, Arigawa Shinji, and so many others. They are all the people I couldn't save!"

Kakashi was astounded. Some of those names had been added almost a year and a half ago. She had been watching people die in her arms for this long. How had he overlooked this? She was crying again.

"I can even tell you the exact cause of death for each one if you were curious," she laughed strangely. "I don't know how to forget them."

Her eyes burned with pain. She was sobbing now. He pulled her into a hug and held her close. How had he missed this? He came very close to hating himself at that moment.

She cried into his chest and he rubbed her back, trying to get her to calm down. He wasn't very good at this sort of thing. But, that wouldn't stop him from being here for her.

She got herself under control fairly quickly and apologized for her embarrassing display.

"There's nothing to apologize for, Sakura."

Her eyes told him that she didn't believe him.

"Sakura, you try your best on everything. That's all you _can_ do. Don't hold it against yourself when the situation was beyond your power to control."

"That's just it though! It's not beyond my power to control! I could have done it! I just… I didn't… It wasn't enough! I wasn't enough and that's all my fault."

"How do you think that?"

"I could have trained harder or paid more attention to what was happening. I could have handle my resources better and put more medics to more important task. I could have done a million things different and…"

"And they still would have died, Sakura," he said forcefully. "No one can stand against death. Not even you. You've got to learn to let go."

She looked down and looked like she was thinking about what he said. He ran his hands up and down her arms, trying to be at least a little comforting.

"If you let it get to you, it will end up killing you," he said from experience. She looked up at him quickly and realized he felt the same way she did. She wasn't alone.

"What's this feeling called?" she asked quietly at the sight of her guilt reflected in his eye.

"They call it survivor's guilt. It's a lame term that doesn't even come close to describing it, but at least it's something," he said seriously.

Sakura nodded and wiped her tears away. She looked up at Kakashi and smiled. It was still a little pained, but it was a real smile nonetheless.

"How about some breakfast, Kaka-sempai?"

He smiled at the nickname, still not over how great it felt to be called that again, and agreed. "But maybe not eggs today," he added with a dubious glance at the mess across the stove and counter.

She agreed heartily and made pancakes with bacon and sausage once they had cleaned up her mess. He smiled at her choice. She really had a thing for foreign breakfasts.

* * *

He watched her eat. He couldn't help himself. Before he had avoided it by concentrating on the delicious food, but his senses for her were on overdrive because of their "talk" this morning. She was just the cutest thing he ever saw. She would bring her chopsticks up to her mouth, loaded down with food, and try to fit all of it in her mouth. When she couldn't seem to manage, she would bob her head and balance the rest of it with mouth and chopsticks until she had swallowed what was in her mouth. She would then quickly gobble up what wouldn't fit before. She would hum every now and then at the pleasurable taste. Then she would start the whole process over again. It was just so…cute!

He wished she would eat like that all the time. She only ate like that in the mornings, when she felt pressed for time. The rest of the time, she ate like a little lady should. It was very boring.

He wanted to reach across the table and ruffle her hair as she dropped another piece of pancake to her plate with a sad face. But, his hands were sticky from the syrup and he doubted she would appreciate sticky hair.

So, he simply munched on his own splendid meal and watched her for amusement.

Sakura glanced up, with mouth wide open, about to put in another mouth.

"Wha?" she said, not closing her mouth, but pausing to keep it clear of food.

"Nothing," he smiled, eye crinkling, as he leaned on the fist that was propped up on the table. Sakura shrugged and stuffed her face full of food.

She finished quickly and headed out, kissing him on the forehead again as a goodbye. He really should make dinner more often.

* * *

Sakura spent the day healing people. A little chakra here, a little chakra there and she was clearing out the hospital. No teams were expected in, so she had no reason to conserve her chakra. She had an appointment with Tsunade at five to get her heart checked out. It was burning every now and then ever since yesterday. She was worried that drawing chakra out yesterday had somehow messed up the rhythm. She had checked it herself, but she could find nothing wrong. Maybe Tsunade could find something that she was overlooking. She had been doing that a lot lately.

She also noticed that her chakra hadn't replenished enough last night like it should have. That was probably due to her lack of sleep. In any case, by the time five o'clock rolled around, the time of the appointment, Sakura was running on empty. She entered Tsunade's office looking rather run over.

"You look like shit," Tsunade had said.

"Which is great compared to how I feel," she said.

"So what's the problem, Sakura-chan?" Tsunade asked.

"My heart's been hurting lately," she replied, rubbing her chest.

"There's a simple solution to that. I have a number of shinobi who want dates with you. I started keeping a log on all the men who have asked about you. It's quite long. Oh, my little Sakura-chan has finally gotten over that Uchiha brat and is willing to find a man to ease that ache in her heart," Tsunade said dreamily.

"What! No!" she said quickly. "It's not that kind of pain." She started waving her arms around frantically as Tsunade pulled a very thick scroll from behind her back.

Tsunade grinned wolfishly at her and Sakura knew her shishou was just joking around.

"Tsunade-shishou," she whined. "Don't joke like that."

"And why shouldn't I? I'm the hokage I can do whatever the hell I want and finding my apprentice her significant other just happens to be one of those things I can do," she huffed, turning her head to the side and sticking her nose in the air pompously.

"Can we do that after I've had a check up," Sakura asked meekly, closing one eye at the pain that had resurfaced suddenly. It was burning sensation and had her rubbing her chest above her heart, even though she couldn't touch the source of the pain.

Tsunade looked down, for a moment curious as to her student's unusual lack of playfulness. She got down to business.

"Your heart you said?" she asked as she placed a glowing hand above Sakura's tattoo.

Sakura nodded and waited patiently as Tsunade scanned her system. She could feel her sensei's chakra flowing through. She had never noticed someone else's chakra with such precision before. It was almost dizzying. She shivered.

"Have you been tapping into the seal lately?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes, a little. Why?"

"Sakura-chan, there's no chakra sealed here. You had to have taken out more than just a little."

"What? There's no chakra there?" That didn't make sense.

"But I only tapped into it yesterday and that was just for a quick boost. There should be a ton of chakra there."

"This doesn't seem good." Tsunade removed her hand and walked to her door. She opened it and called to Shizune.

"Shizune, I want Hinata in my office as soon as possible," she ordered.

"Demo, Hinata is on a mission."

"Is Neji in the village then?"

"Hai," said Shizune. She was confused as to why Tsunade would need a Hyuuga.

"Get him in here."

Tsunade closed her door and walked back to Sakura. She put a hand to her chin and stood back to examine the girl.

"What is it Tsunade?"

"Chakra doesn't just go away. You know that better than anyone. If you haven't used it all, that chakra has to be somewhere. A Hyuuga will find it. But, that still doesn't understand why your heart has been hurting. Has it happened before?"

"No, never."

"Have you been having any other problems?"

"Just some mild heartburn, but I thought that was from all the foreign food I've been eating lately."

"Heartburn? Hm. I wonder." Tsunade had a theory. She really hoped she was wrong. "When you tapped into the seal the last time, did anything seem strange?"

"Well, I was a little bit busy at the time, so I didn't really notice anything wrong," she said sadly, upset that she couldn't be more help. "But, now that I think about it, there probably should have been more there. It's been about a week or so since I placed it. Yeah, there should have been a _lot_ more chakra there."

"That's what I was afraid of," Tsunade said gravely.

"You called for me, Tsunade-sama?" Neji asked, walking in.

"Yes, come," she said, waving him over. "Use your Byakugan and tell me what you see."

He glanced at Sakura, who was worriedly sitting on a stool in front of him.

"On Sakura-chan?"

"Do you see anyone else in the room? Yes, Sakura-chan. Get to it," Tsunade snapped.

Neji shook off Tsunade's coarse attitude and did as he was told.

"Byakugan!" His kekkei genkai activated and he focused on Sakura. "Ah!"

He deactivated his kekkei genkai and held his hand over his eyes. They were watering.

"Neji-kun!" Sakura yelled with concern.

"What happened?" Tsunade asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder to keep him steady. He still hadn't opened his eyes.

"She's fucking bright! That's what happened! Ah," he said, rubbing at his eyes.

"Don't rub them; it'll only make it worse," Tsunade said, stilling his hands with her own. He let her remove his hands. He cautiously opened his eyes a little. They were bloodshot around the rims. Sakura gasped.

"Gomen nasai, Neji-kun. Are you alright?"

"It's not your fault, Sakura-chan. I'll be fine," he smiled at her.

"Is there any way you can take a look without blinding yourself again?" Tsunade asked, more worried about Sakura than Neji's eyes.

"Aa. I'll just have to keep the chakra going to them at low levels. Byakugan!"

He peered at her with interest.

"What do you see?" Tsunade questioned.

"The chakra in her normal passages is low. She's being healing too much again. She shouldn't be able to stand right now."

"What? But I feel fine," Sakura defended.

"You said she was bright with chakra a moment ago. What is going on?"

"As I said, the chakra in her _normal_ passages is dangerously low. However, she seems to have another system that is transporting chakra throughout her body. I'm not sure, but I think it might be her circulatory system."

"Kuso," Tsunade cursed.

"What is it, Tsunade-shishou?"

"Neji, take a look at her heart. What do you see?"

"Her heart is a big mass of chakra. There's a symbol where her chakra is concentrated on the surface. The chakra's leaking into her bloodstream. It's also replenishing chakra to her normal passages. What is this, Tsunade-sama?" he asked in awe.

"It's a kinjutsu," she said, glaring at Sakura. "You were complaining of a burning sensation? That's the seal putting chakra back into your system instead of taking it out. I couldn't find any chakra there because it's storing all of it in your blood. That heartburn you've been having is a result of your heart adjusting to the chakra. Have you stopped having the heartburn?"

"Aa. Two days ago," Sakura said downcast. Tsunade was angry with her again.

"That means your body has adjusted to filtering your chakra to your body through your blood. You've reached equilibrium now. The jutsu should start sealing your chakra in the seal from now on, doubling the already insane amount you can store in the seal. You just had to use your heart, didn't you?"

Tsunade sighed. Sakura didn't see what was so bad about that and said so.

"'What's so bad about that?' I'll tell you what's so bad about that! Your body is not used to receiving a direct and constant flow of chakra as if it were blood. No one knows what kind of effect this will have. I still don't understand why your chakra gates aren't going haywire because of it. It could make you incredibly powerful or it could _kill_ you. _I don't know what it will do!_"

Sakura cowered o her stool. Neji looked at Sakura in profound worry. He glanced at her open shirt, trying not to blush and stared at the blood-red tattoo over her heart. "Strength?" What had she done to herself?

"The first thing I have to do is run a blood test. No healing for you until I get this sorted out. I don't need you making the situation any worse than it already is," Tsunade scolded.

"But, Tsunade-shishou…"

"No buts. I'll let you know when I've cleared you. I don't care if it was _Naruto_ that needed your expertise to stay alive. Absolutely _no healing!"_

"Hai, Tsunade-shishou," she said forlornly, lowering her head to the floor. "If that's the case, could I go on a three day survival training mission with Anko in the Forest of Death?"

Tsunade clapped a hand to her forehead. Would this girl ever stop? What happened to the twelve-year-old Sakura that never wanted to train?

"Fine, as long as you don't use anymore chakra."

"Is that wise, Tsunade-sama?" asked Neji. "If you want her condition to remain stable, wouldn't it be better to keep her at her current levels? Shouldn't she expend chakra to stay where she is?"

"No. For some reason, her current state is a completely natural state to her body. She automatically pulls the chakra from her bloodstream without even realizing that is where she is pulling it from. If she expends too much chakra, she may start pulling the chakra out of the blood without even realizing it. I don't know what that will do to her blood if it has already found a state of symbiosis with her chakra. Her blood cells could start rupturing. I don't know enough about this condition. It's better we just leave it develop natural until I can find a solution."

Neji nodded. Tsunade made good sense.

Sakura rubbed her tattoo and yawned. Her low chakra was catching up with her. "Can I go home?"

"After I get a blood sample. You may leave though, Neji."

Neji knew that was no request. He bowed his head to the hokage and cast a worried glance at Sakura. She gave him a reassuring smile as he walked out the door.

Sakura held her arm out for Tsunade to draw blood, not even flinching when the needle pierced her skin and the red fluid started filling a large test tube. When Tsunade had well over a half a pint, she dismissed Sakura. She gratefully slid off the stool and headed home. She hoped she would get more sleep tonight than she had last night.

* * *

Sakura feel over the back of her couch, not looking before she did so.

"Oomph!"

She fell on someone who was not supposed to be in her apartment. Arms snaked around her waist, one hand holding an orange book.

"Kakashi-sempai! What are you doing here? Don't you have your own apartment to read at?"

She was angry, he could tell. Luckily, he knew just what to do. He reached up and started rubbing behind her ears.

"Honestly, with the amount of time you spend on my…couch…you could…do…oh…" Her ranting was brought to halt as he hit just the right spot. She shivered and then fell back onto his chest, boneless. He chuckled at her cute, blissful expression.

She came to her senses after a moment and reluctantly shoved his hands away.

"Stop that! What are you doing here?" she sulked.

"You still haven't put me back in your alarm system."

"You waited around all day just for that?"

"No. I got in some training earlier, but when I came back I didn't like what I saw." He would never get over the sight of her mangled and bleeding corpse.

"Hm. It should have warned me if you came in. I must not have been within range. I can fix that now," she said, moving to get up.

"No, you can do it in the morning," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and keeping her on top of him. He could see she was very tired. She let herself by pulled down, grateful for the reprieve. "How was work?" he asked, making small talk.

"It was fine."

"Anything interesting happen?"

"Not really. Well, I might be dying, but other than that not really."

"What?" he asked worriedly, sitting up and taking her with him. She ended up sitting in his lap, but she was too tired to care.

"Yeah, something about the seal leaking chakra into my bloodstream and reeking havoc on my system. Tsunade took some blood for analysis. She was really worried, but I don't think it's serious."

"You might be dying, but you don't think it's serious?" he asked incredulously. He was ready to reprimand her for her lack of care for her own wellbeing.

"It hasn't done anything yet. In fact, I feel great, except that I'm dog tired. From what Tsunade can tell, it's been doing this from the first day. If it was going to do something, I think it already would have done it," she said practically. "Oh, I almost forgot! I need to call Anko."

"Why do you need to call her?" he asked, not approving of the change of topic, but too curious to keep her on track.

"She owes me a favor and Tsunade okayed a three day training mission to the Forest of Death," she said. "Now where did I leave my phone?"

She started rifling through her medical scrolls on the coffee table and soon found her silver cell phone. He chuckled at her choice of keychain. It seemed she liked Pakkun as much as he liked her. She got up from his lap when she found it and moved into the hallway as she dialed Anko's number. He was sad to see her go.

She came back into the door way and motioned for him to follow her. He got up lazily, but he was happy inside.

"Hey, Anko. Are you…"

"Oh my Kami-sama, Sakura-chan! How have you been! What the hell is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how worried I've been? Why haven't you been to see me? I'm going to give you a good spanking the next time I see you!" Sakura held the phone away from her ear and Kakashi cringed at the loud voice that was issuing from the small communication device.

"Anko, please stop yelling," pleaded Sakura, bringing only the transmitter near her face and keeping the receiver as far away as possible.

"Stop yelling? How can I stop yelling? My little kunoichi nearly killed herself and now she's telling me not to yell! Well, I'll have you know that I…"

_Her_ little kunoichi? Kakashi did _not_ like where this was going.

"Three day trip to the Forest of Death!" Sakura yelled into the phone quickly, trying to desperately to stop Anko's raving.

There was a long pause and then a faint what was heard from the other line. Sakura sighed with relief and placed the phone up to her ear again.

"You and me for a three day training mission to the Forest of Death," Sakura clarified.

There was a loud squeal and Sakura cringed and held the phone away at arms length.

"That's perfect, Sakura-chan! A nice romantic getaway with just you me and the forest! I'll make sure you never forget it! Trust in Mitarashi Anko! You'll never want anyone else after I'm done with you! Oh, Sakura-chan, I'll caress your sweet…"

Kakashi grabbed the phone from Sakura.

"This is a training mission, Anko! Not a sexual endeavor!" he yelled at the offensive object.

There was a pause. And then…

"Sakura-chan, why is Kakashi-baka there?" she wailed. "I thought you said it was going to be just you and me! I want you all to myself!"

"Calm down, Anko," she said, grabbing the phone from Kakashi with a glare. "He's not coming. He's just over at my apartment."

Anko calmed down and he couldn't hear what she was saying to Sakura.

"No, he is _not_ doing anything inappropriate."

"I don't know why he's over here."

"Yes, I fed him."

"Hatake Kakashi! You stay the hell away from my Sakura-chan! I don't care if you are the Copy-nin; I'll kick your ass from here to Suna and back! What the hell are you thinking? If you so much as…"

Kakashi took the phone from Sakura's once again outstretched hand.

"It's none of your business, Anko," he said dangerously.

"If it's dealing with Sakura-chan, it is my business! Where do you get off just popping back into her life? You left and I claimed her as my own little kunoichi to hug and cuddle and pinch and…"

"She's not yours, Anko," he said harshly.

"Well, she certainly isn't yours anymore, Hatake," the woman said bitingly.

"That's about to change." He would be a part of her life again. He glanced at Sakura. She was blushing and glaring at him. She couldn't hear the conversation and it was making her mad. They were talking about her, after all.

"Ha! I'll believe that when I see it. I don't want to talk to you anymore. Tell her to meet me at gate nine tomorrow at seven and I'll make it worth her while," Anko said suggestively. "And tell her I said sorry about the wall."

She hung up and Kakashi passed on the message, leaving out the innuendo of course. He handed the cell phone back and Sakura blushed prettily.

"Sorry you had to hear that. You know she was just joking right? About all the 'my little kunoichi' stuff," she said.

"You never know with Anko," Kakashi said sagely.

"Oh, come on, Kakashi-sempai. Anko may be lewd, but we both know she's straight. It's just too bad Iruka-sensei will never notice her."

She put her hand on his arm and he felt a warm sensation as her chakra entered his system.

He watched her calmly. "Sakura-chan, what are you doing?"

"Putting you back in the system, silly. I need some of your chakra to do it. Why do you think I called you over here? It's not like I wanted you to hear all that," she pouted.

He didn't say anything and she all too quickly withdrew her chakra and walked over to the balcony door. She opened it and pried the trim boards up from the frame. Underneath laid a very complex jutsu written in black ink. She traced her finger along the lines of kanji until she reach what seemed to be a random spot. She must have put some chakra into it, because a new kanji flared up underneath her fingertip.

"This is the master kanji that regulates the whole system," she informed. She placed her other hand on top of the kanji and it flared again, this time silver instead of red. "There. You're in."

He came over to get a better look at this master kanji. It read "protection." Fitting.

"It only responds to my chakra, so no one else can change it without my approval," she said proudly.

"Impressive," he said, ruffling her hair.

"Kakashi-sempai, could you go get me a hammer. There should be one in the cabinet above the sink."

He went to fetch the hammer while she placed the trim board back in position. He found the object where she said it would be and came back. He deftly hammered the nails back in place for her, even though she had extended her hand to take the hammer and do it herself. She smiled at him in thanks and went back to the living room. He put the hammer back where he fond it and joined her in the living room. She had stolen his spot. No matter. He would just lie on top of her.

She was sitting up, looking out the window in a daze. He flopped down and rested his head in her lap. She looked down in surprise, but his nose was already in his book.

"There's a love seat in here and you're not even going to use it?" she asked humorously.

"You took my spot. I refuse to give it up without a fight."

She laughed and went back to staring out the window. Her eyes lost focus and her hands started to absently run through his hair. He glanced up at her in mild surprise, but she wasn't paying him any attention. He smiled and went back to his book. Her ministrations felt good either way.

"Is there really a chance you could die?" he asked fearfully.

"I don't think so. It's serious, but I doubt it could kill me. I might become hideously transfigured and ugly," she joked with a serious tone. "Would you still be my sempai if I was deformed?"

"Sakura, I'm serious."

She sighed. "The only thing wrong right now is that we know nothing about the effects of my condition. Like I said before, if it was going to do something, it probably would have already happened. Don't worry about it. I'm not."

He gave a grunt of acknowledgement and the two lapsed into silence. He glanced up at her a time later and saw that she was staring beyond the window, her mind in a million places. He just hoped she wasn't still feeling guilty, but he knew she was. He also knew that she was worrying about this new development with her seal, but was trying to play it off. He wanted to help her, but there was nothing he could do. His mind flashed back to her unmoving form, bloody and prostrate before the memorial stone. His heart clenched at the memory. He couldn't lose her.

She started humming a song he had never heard before. She had a beautiful singing voice, he realized. Her song relaxed him. It was ethereal, the song was. It was sad and happy, invigorating and soothing, sorrowful and joyous, resonating and reserved all at once. Somehow, it soothed his tumultuous mind and made his flesh prickle. He wondered where she had learned the haunting melody.

He took one of her hands from his hair and kissed her wrist through his mask. "What song is that?" he asked.

"Hm?" she asked breaking from her trancelike state. "What song?"

"The one you were just singing," he chuckled.

"Oh, I didn't know I was singing," she said with mild surprise. "I don't know. Try humming it and I might be able to tell you."

He tried to hum it back to her, but he couldn't seem to remember how it went. He had just heard it. What was it?

"You know, I can't really remember now that you've stopped," he said, confused.

"Must not have been that great of a song then," she laughed and tousled his hair.

He frowned. It had been a great song. It still left him wanting to hear more. But for the life of him, he couldn't recall how it had gone. He sighed.

"Forget about it," he said and returned to his book. She could tell it bothered him, though, because he had kept her wrist and was rubbing circles in it with his thumb, as if it was his own little worry stone.

She let him keep her wrist, but she still played with his hair, turning it this way and that to see which way it looked better. She was having trouble deciding between an upward sweep and a rakish hang over his left eye. She sighed. There were so many better uses of her time.

"I was going to train with Gai-sensei and Lee-kun today, too," she said sadly.

"Why? If you needed training, you should have come to me."

"Old habits die hard I guess," she smiled slightly.

'_Training with me should be the old habit, Sakura-chan,'_ he thought with a scowl. _'That's my fault that it's not, I guess.'_

She frowned a little and started to rub her chest above her heart. He remembered her tattoo.

"Is the seal hurting you?" he asked softly.

"A little," she said, equally soft.

She brought her hand back to his hair and smiled. "Nothing serious though."

He scowled. He got up and she looked at him curiously as he sat cross-legged next to her. She squeaked when he pulled her onto his lap and placed his chin on her collar bone, keeping his book in front of the both of them and one arm around her waist.

"You're too hardheaded, Sakura-chan," he rebuked. "If it hurts, just say so."

She wasn't paying attention to him, and he realized too late that putting his book in front of her had been a bad idea.

"Is that the Reverse Crane? Jiraiya knows New-age Kama Sutra? Damn him! This is where all those baka have been getting the idea!" She was practically livid and had grabbed his book and was staring wrathfully at the erotic depiction.

"Wait. _You_ know New-age Kama Sutra?" he asked, astounded.

"Of course! Original Kama Sutra, too. All medics learn the positions. You wouldn't believe how many people come in because they can't get the correct position and end up hurting themselves. We're into prevention rather then repeated healing, so we medics have to teach them how to get it right. This position especially causes problems. If the girl isn't limber enough, she falls off and bam! Instant concussion. I've gotten two this week and it's only Tuesday! So this is why it's so popular! What else is in here?" she yelled, angrily thumbing through his precious novel for anymore offending material.

Kakashi was ready to cry. His sweet, innocent little kunoichi wasn't as innocent as he thought.

"Sleeping Crocodile, Pouncing Tiger, Springing Monkey…" she listed as she rifled through the dirty book.

He noticed a slight blush painting her cheeks. Or at least, she wasn't as naïve as he thought she was.

"What else has Tsunade been teaching you?" he demanded angrily. The corruption of his kunoichi's mind could not go without contest.

"I'm a medic, Kaka-sempai," she patronized. "It's my job to learn these things. You read these smutty books, but you can't handle someone else knowing about what's in them?"

"You're fifteen, Sakura-chan. You're not supposed to know about what's in them."

"Oh, please. There are lots of girls my age who have already had sex, Baka-sempai."

He cringed at the foul word coming from her sweet mouth. She noticed. Her lips curled into an evil smile.

"Sex," she said. He cringed and covered his ears with his hands.

"Sex," she said.

"No," he whined.

"Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex…"

"Stop it!" he cried.

"Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex…"

He slapped his hand over her mouth with a growl.

"That is enough of that," he said firmly to the girl still sitting on his lap. She childishly licked his hand. He cringed again, but did not remove his hand. "Not another word from you about…" He shivered. "…_that._"

He looked to her for a sign that she understood and would obey. She nodded her head. He removed his hand hesitantly.

"S! E! X!"

He growled and pinned her laughing form underneath him on the couch. He glared at her most maliciously.

"They weren't words; they were letters!" she defended, still laughing in his face.

He grabbed both her wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head. He then grinned evilly. She stopped laughing, wary of the look in his eye. He reached a hand down and gingerly touched her side.

She gave a half laugh and started begging. "No, Kakashi-sempai, please."

He touched her again and she laughed.

"No, please, don't."

His grinned widened and he began tickling her outright.

"Ha ha… No, stop! Ha ha ha!"

She was squirming now. Oh, how she squirmed. Revenge was sweet.

She pleaded and pleaded for him to stop. There were tears in her eyes, she was laughing so hard. Her face was bright red and he only stopped when she complained that she couldn't breathe.

He sat on her stomach smugly and watched as she tried to compose herself. When she had finally managed to regain some countenance, she stuck her bottom lip out petulantly and glared at him. He pressed his nose to hers and smiled arrogantly.

"What did you learn, Sakura-chan?"

"Hatake Kakashi has problems with the word sex?" she responded with a cheeky smile.

"Oh?" he asked and moved his hand to tickle her again.

"No wait!" she screamed just before he made contact.

"Aa?"

"Ano, I also learned to treat Hatake Kakashi with respect?"

"That's better."

"And as the grumpy old prude that he is," she mumbled. "No stop! Ha ha!"

She really was too hardheaded. He laughed too at her laughter. When he felt she had enough punishment, he sat both of them back up into their previous positions- he cross-legged and her in his lap.

Now that she was introduced to _Icha Icha,_ he saw no reason to not read it in front of her. She glared at the offensive book, but only in passing. She was soon staring out the window again, this time at the beautiful sunset.

He read his book over her shoulder peacefully. She must have been more tired than she gave off, because within five minutes, her head fell back on his shoulder. She was asleep. He smiled and let her lean against him. It was his favorite feeling, having her lean on him.

Looking at her, his thoughts wandered.

'_I'm not a prude,'_ he thought judiciously. _'I read **Icha Icha** for Kami's sake. And I'm definitely not old. Or grumpy. She was just trying to rile me. Yeah. She didn't mean it.'_

He held her tighter and curled around her small frame. He didn't want to move her, but he also didn't want her to get a crick in her neck again. He sighed and lay down with her slowly, making sure not to jostle her. He managed to get them both on their sides and he rested his head on top of her head and continued to read. He'd carry her to her bed in a minute.

* * *

He was awake the instant he heard the window slide open. He feigned sleep, monitoring the intruder's next move. Whoever it was, they screamed.

"Sakura-sama!"

He obviously wasn't in the system. But, he obviously knew Sakura. Kakashi sighed wearily.

"Kai!" he said lazily as her performed the release jutsu.

The man was still weeping.

"Stop blubbering, baka. You'll wake her up," he scolded quietly.

"Wha-what?"

"It was just a genjutsu. There a light switch to your right. Try not to hit the wall."

Kakashi heard a thump and a curse. The light switched on and Kakashi looked scornfully at the raven haired man with hazel eyes. He was in a medic's uniform.

"Who are you?" Kakashi ground out.

The man looked over at the couch and blushed. "Gomen, I didn't mean to interrupt. I am Taka, and we need Sakura-sama down at the hospital."

"Interrupting what?" Kakashi asked, looking down at where the man refused to look. He grinned.

Sakura had moved in her sleep. She was now flat on her back with her hands fisted in his shirt. He had one leg thrown over her and his torso was on top of hers. He had one arm thrown possessively around her waist and one hand in her hair. This was perfect. This was the perfect way to ensure the handsome man didn't even think of laying a hand on his kunoichi.

"You're forgiven," he said arrogantly, burying his nose into her hair and rubbing his leg along her slightly. "She's been very tired lately. I'd rather not wake her."

"Forgive, demo…there's been an accident and we need her to lead an operation. Nomichi is out of chakra and she's the only other medic with enough skill to heal them all."

"What about Tsunade-sama or Shizune?" he asked. Sakura stirred, making a soft moaning sound.

"Tsunade-sama has locked herself in her office with orders not to disturb her for anything and Shizune-sama is running damage control. Onegai, my lord. It has to be Sakura-sama."

"Fine," he sighed. He moved his leg off of her and brought either elbow to the sides of her face. He lifted himself off of her with graceful ease and hovered over.

"Sakura-chan," he called sweetly.

"Mm," she moaned. "Five more minutes Naruto."

"Sakura-chan," he called again, practically singing her name.

Her brow furrowed and she opened her eyes tiredly. "Kaka-sempai?"

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "What's up?"

"Sakura-sama!" She looked over at the young medic and smiled. Kakashi glared at him. "Ohayou, Taka-kun. Why are you at my apartment?"

The man was eyeing Kakashi warily as he answered her. "Gomen for waking you, Sakura-sama, but we have a situation down at the hospital. A storage room of exploding tags, well, exploded. We need your expertise."

Sakura was up in a moment. She was already in full dress, having fallen asleep without changing. She pushed Kakashi off of her and left him on the couch. She took a quick glance around and checked the tie on her skirt, where she kept many of her medical sutra. Kakashi got up to stand next to her, close enough to leave the other man in the room guessing.

"Alright, Taka. Let's go."

"Hai, Sakura-sama," the man said happily.

Sakura started to walk away to the window, but Kakashi pulled her back into his chest. She looked surprised and he placed a kiss on her forehead, linger for just a moment to be sure "Taka-kun" got the message. He glanced at the man. The intruder was blushing, but didn't look away. Sakura looked up at him with a confused look.

"Good luck," he said to her. She smiled and her eyes were grateful.

She was out the window in the blink of an eye. "Come on, Taka!"

The hapless man was left to scramble after her and Kakashi laughed at the man's expense.

* * *

The rooftops passed by in a blur under her feet. She would be at the hospital soon. Taka was right behind. She looked down at the rooftops, not seeing them.

Sakura was in a dilemma. Tsunade had told her not to heal until she gave the okay.

'_But surely Tsunade-shishou would have told the medical staff that she was unable to heal for a while. She must have okayed it if they called me. They should even have to call me. Things must be really bad. Can I really let some one just lay on operating floor and die because I was given an order that I'm not even sure is still in place. Tsunade said any chakra expenditure my kill me. But even she didn't know for sure.'_

'**_There's no choice to it!'_** piped up Inner Sakura. **_'So what if it kills you? Can you stand by and watch another person die?'_**

'_You're right,'_ Sakura thought gravely. _'Even if it costs my life, I will heal anyone I can!'_

With newfound determination, Sakura reached the hospital.

* * *

Tsunade looked up from the microscope. She growled in frustration. Blood sample after blood sample yielded the same results. Sakura had more chakra than she knew. Not only was there chakra freely floating in her blood, a lot of chakra had absorbed into her blood cells. It was probably the same way with all of the cells within Sakura's body. The chakra had found its way to the nuclei and had begun to change her DNA. Or rather, to activate the latent DNA that had been dormant previous to this occurrence.

It seemed five hundred years was not enough to change prophecy. If Sakura used her chakra one more time, the effects would be irreversible. Tsunade ran from the room to find Sakura as soon as possible.

"Shizune!"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama?" asked her friend. Tsunade paused at the woman's scorched appearance.

"What happened to you?"

"There was an explosion at one of our storage facilities. I knew you didn't want to be disturbed, so I ran damage control. Everyone who was injured is at the hospital now and the flames have been quelled. The situation has been resolved," the woman said proudly.

"Oh, right. Well, I'm off to Sakura-chan's apartment. I need to speak to her before she does something stupid. I'll be back in about an hour."

"Oh, Sakura-chan is at the hospital," Shizune informed.

"What? Why?"

"There were three squadrons in the storage facility when it blew and five more within the immediate area. Nomichi and the night staff were out of chakra before they could heal all of them. I had to call for reinforcements, so I sent for Sakura-chan. She's the only one who can handle some of the wounded."

"Shimatta! How long ago was this?"

"A-about an hour ago," Shizune said, surprised by her mentor's forceful manner.

"Kuso!" Tsunade ran for the hospital.

* * *

Sakura kneeled on the ground, desperately trying to heal her friend. All the chakra that she had accumulated from her brief sleep had already gone into healing the worst victims' wounds. That was two operations ago. Everyone had pulled through thanks to her, but now she was working with whatever she could siphon out of the seal, as she had been for thirty minutes.

Kotetsu was fading fast and so was her chakra. She had restarted his heart and breathing three times already. Her fellow medics were all too busy keeping the temperature in his brain at normal levels so his brain cells didn't cook inside his skull. His fever refused to go down and she was pouring chakra into his system, trying to rejuvenate all his skin and repair the damaged nerves, in most cases, construct new nerves by forcibly replicating his existing nerve cells. When he had come in, his entire abdomen had been nothing but black charcoal. It was amazing that he was still alive when he came in. She had slowly repaired him. All his organs were back, as well as muscle, but she needed at least two layers of skin before his temperature would start dropping. She was having trouble managing one. She knew she was down to the very last of her chakra, seal and all. She was so close, damn it!

"Sakura-sama, it's useless. We don't have any chakra left. We can't manage this much longer!"

"I'm not giving up on him!"

Three of the eight medics in her team had already dropped off from low chakra. The five remaining were giving it all they had, but it wasn't going to be enough.

"We can't give our lives for one man!" Eri cried at her. Taka pulled out as well as Kumi, both too tired to speak.

"Then I'll do it myself!"

She pushed more chakra into him, using Inner Sakura to take over for the two that had run out of chakra.

Nimura and Raki both retrieved their hands from the seal, breathing hard and sweating to no end. Only Eri remained with her.

"Please, Sakura-sama," she pleaded weakly. "You're as tired as we are. If you keep going at this rate, you'll die." Eri retrieved her hand as she fell back, too weak to kneel.

"I won't lose another one!" she screamed her defiance.

'_Even if I die!'_ Sakura wished for a way to save him. With all her mind, body, soul, and spirit she willed him to live. _'Please, Kami-sama, Buddha, God, anyone! Please! Give me the strength to save him!'_

She pushed more chakra into him, everything she could get. Her back hurt. Her ears were ringing. She didn't care. She thought for sure this was the end of her chakra, but somehow, there was more. The ringing in her ears grew louder. No, it wasn't ringing. It was singing. Who was singing? Her back really hurt.

She pushed and pushed the chakra into him, just managing to keep the temperature in his brain level. The singing was very beautiful, she thought absently. Maybe it was the song of angels, sent to carry her away. Unbelievably, she still had chakra. Where was it coming from? She traced it to the source and began to pull, trying to get more.

'_**We can do this! We can save him!'**_

"Even if I die!" Sakura and Inner Sakura screamed at the same time.

Something inside her burst.

Sakura screamed. The door flew open. Her back was on fire, but the sensation was soon gone. She was suddenly filled with chakra and the singing in her ears was inside her head. She didn't question it.

She poured what felt like a limitless supply of chakra into the man, immediately repairing all three layers of skin and healing his fever in no time flat. Kotetsu looked like he had never been a fire at all.

She had chakra to spare. She glanced at her hands. They glowed with an eerie, red chakra. She glanced up at her team. All of them were looking at her as if they had never seen her before.

"I was too late," breathed Tsunade from behind her.

She turned around to face her teacher, but her gaze met red feathers. What? She wanted them to move out of the way and she felt something in her back flex. The great wing moved out of the way just as she had wanted, revealing Tsunade at the doorway. Her teacher was looking at her, horrified. She didn't want to see her sensei with that look. Her back flexed again and the wing moved back in place. That's when it hit Sakura.

"Oh dear," she said. She turned back to Kotetsu. At the corner of her eyes, she could see her hands were still glowing with the strange red chakra that suddenly didn't seem so strange anymore. "Oh dear," she said and passed out.

Tsunade watched her student fall to the floor, wings automatically furling out to soften the impact with their air resistance. The wings started to retract and Tsunade came up to her student, peeling back the torn shirt to reveal Sakura's back just as the tips disappeared. On each shoulder blade was a small, blood-red tattoo of a three-jointed wing. In between her two shoulder blades was a small, gold circle no bigger than a chakra point. Around the circle, a tiny dragon in red appeared, roaring its glory. Tsunade swore.

The members of Sakura's team gathered around the two of them. They all gasped when they saw the markings and one of the females, Eri, she believed, started to cry.

"What's wrong with her, Tsunade-sama?" Taka asked fearfully.

"'After the five hundredth year, a Dragon will be born again in this world. The sakura tree will bloom again,'" she murmured to herself. She watched the little gold circle and the dragon disappear. "She will be fine," Tsunade assured. "She just used up a lot of chakra and then went looking for more. She found it."

No one must know this had happened. Tsunade looked up to glare at everyone present. "You will all forget what occurred in this room," she said firmly. "If anyone asks, Sakura used her amazing healing ability to save her friend. You saw nothing else and you will say as much. Is that understood?"

They all nodded at her, frightened of her and fearful for Sakura.

"Now tell me all that went on before I got here," she ordered. Taka told her of Sakura's determination not to give up on Kotetsu and how she continued pushing her body to the limit, even when the rest of her team had given up. She was willing to die to save Kotetsu. Tsunade was glad she hadn't taught Sakura how to open her chakra gates.

"Your report will include everything up until the incident. After that, you will say that she pulled off a miracle and healed him on her own. You were all too tired to watch the actual process and only saw the amazing result. Understood?"

They all nodded at her.

"Good. You're all dismissed. Get some rest."

They all shuffled out of the room, each casting one last glance at Sakura. Tsunade could have laughed. The girl had her team whipped and loving it. She walked over to the man lying in the middle of the room.

"Kotetsu, you are one lucky bastard." She should shave all his hair off so it would look like he really had been in a fire. He was only missing half an eyebrow. He didn't have a scratch otherwise. Tsunade picked him up and placed him on a stretcher. She wheeled it out and told a passing nurse to take him to a room. She asked if all the victims of the explosion had been taken care of. The nurse said yes, he was the last one. The three Nomichi-sensei had been unable to heal had all been placed under stationary sutra until Sakura-sensei had arrived. She had cured the rest of them earlier. Everyone was alive and had pulled through just swimmingly. Was everything alright? Her team came out looking extremely worse for the wear.

Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief and waved of the nurses concern. Everything was fine. She walked back over to Sakura and did a quick scan. It had to be quick, because the girl was absorbing chakra like nothing else. Tsunade lost a fair bit at the first touch. She growled. Why was she absorbing chakra? Was it even her that was absorbing it? What the hell was going on? She wanted to punch something very badly.

All her vitals were stable. She wasn't in any immediate danger. It seemed pointless to admit her to the hospital if she couldn't be healed without absorbing the medic's chakra. She decided Sakura would feel more comfortable in her own home. She picked the girl up in her strong arms and set out for Sakura's apartment.

* * *

She entered through the window Sakura always kept unlocked and performed the release jutsu quickly. She couldn't handle seeing Sakura's bloody corpse after the fright she had just had.

"Tsunade-sama? Is Sakura-chan alright?" the Copy-nin asked from the couch. He was looking at Sakura like a puppy that had been struck.

"What the hell are you doing here, Kakashi?" Tsunade asked tiredly.

"It's my mission to watch over her, isn't it?"

"And what a fine job you did!" she said angrily. She turned away from him and proceeded to Sakura's room.

She placed Sakura in her bed, pulling up the covers and tucking her in. She stood there a moment, admiring her reckless, determined, and selfless student. She tucked a stray lock of hair behind the girl that was like a daughter to her. "Sleep sweet, Sakura-chan."

She returned to the living room to find Kakashi pouring two glasses of sake. Tsunade slumped onto the loveseat with a tired sigh and gratefully accepted the cup.

"What's with the manners, Kakashi? And where did you get the sake?"

"Sakura would never forgive me if a guest went without hospitality in her home. She cooks with the sake."

"That explains the staleness. Still hits the spot, though," she said, taking another drink. Kakashi sat on the couch and sipped at his own glass.

"Did you know that she wasn't supposed to be healing? I specifically forbid her."

"She never told me that," he said, hurt.

"Did she at least tell you about the problems she had been having with the seal?"

"Yes. She told me that it was a serious problem. She that you had said she might die. The way she talked about it, though, I didn't think it was all that serious."

"She nearly died tonight, Kakashi."

She watched him almost drop his glass. Only his quick reflexes avoid a mess on Sakura's carpet.

"What?" he asked, setting the glass down on the table with a shaky hand.

"Had she been anyone else, had she not been Haruno Sakura, the stunt she pulled tonight would have had the same effect as opening the eighth chakra gate. She would have spent every last drop of energy she had trying to save a dying man."

"I… I didn't…"

"You didn't know. Hell, I didn't even know until tonight. I think she knew, though. She has a great instinct for these things. I think she knew that she wasn't going to die, somewhere in the back of her mind. She's special, Kakashi. I thank Kami-sama that she is who she is. I'm going to be requesting a special mission of you soon. A-rank. I have questions that I need answered. Prepare for it."

She took another swig of her sake and refilled her glass.

"Tsunade-sama, is she going to be…"

"She'll be fine. She just needs some sleep. I think."

Kakashi stared hard at the coffee table littered with medical research and jutsu scrolls.

"She was planning a training mission with Anko tomorrow. Should I tell her to call it off?"

"No. I don't know what her state will be like tomorrow. I'll check up on her in the morning and then decide what I should do. There are some things I need to discuss with her before anything else."

"What kinds of things?"

"The kinds of things one would find in a kin scroll."

Kakashi's eye widened in surprise. Tsunade let out a long breath, downed the rest of the sake and got up to leave.

"Have a nice night, Kakashi."

He scoffed. "You, too, Tsunade-sama."

She nodded and left out the window.

Kakashi sat a moment, staring off into space and letting all of what Tsunade had said sink in. He had to see her.

He got up and walked to her room. He stood there for a second, admiring her in the small light from the sliver of moon in the sky. He watched her chest rise and fall, glad she was alive. Her sat down next to her bed and thanked Kami-sama she was alive. He took up her hand in his own and kissed her wrist, right above the strong pulse.

Why? Why had she pushed herself so hard? Why did she continue to push herself until she was scarred or broken or half-dead? He didn't want that for her. He wanted her to live a happy, stress-free life. She deserved it more than anyone.

He kissed her wrist again. And then again, just to feel her pulse underneath his lips. He wanted to stay there all night and watch over her, but he needed his sleep if he was going to keep up with her. From now on, she wouldn't leave his sight, especially when she was at the hospital.

He went back to her couch, his current bed. He fell asleep soon enough and dreamed only of her being safe in his arms.

* * *

Sakura woke to the pale light of the sun just rising. She smiled at it for a moment and then tried to get up. She could barely move a muscle. It was like she had no energy. Her chakra was extremely low. What was going on?

"Oh," she groaned, managing to make it to a sitting position. Her whole body hurt. "What hit me?"

There was a knock on her door. Sakura looked up, wondering who it could be. No one was supposed to be in her house.

"Come in," she called.

The door swung open and a white broom came in. No, wait. It wasn't a white broom, it was Kakashi. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, wincing at the ache of the small action.

"You're awake," he said happily. "How are you feeling?"

"I ache all over," she moaned. "What happened?"

Kakashi scowled at her. Why was he angry with her? He sat down on her bed.

"You used up a lot of chakra last when healing and almost died," he explained.

Sakura thought a moment and then all last night's events came back to her in flash. She gasped and then turned her to look at the right side of her back. Then she turned and looked over her shoulder at the left side. What was she searching for? She must have found it, because she let out a sigh of relief.

"They're gone," she said happily, hand over her heart.

"Hm? What's gone, Sakura-chan?"

"N-nothing," she said, turning back to face Kakashi. "Just a silly dream I guess."

'_Although, it didn't feel like a dream. I can still feel them. And they're very itchy.'_

She smiled at him sweetly, but her smile dropped when he closed his eyes and then glared at her intensely.

"Sakura-chan," he said sternly.

"A-aa?"

He leaned in close to her. He was invading her personal space and she wanted to scoot back, but didn't have the courage to move in the face of his stare. He reached up and thumped her on the forehead.

"Don't you ever dare to do something like that again."

"Y-yosh," she nodded.

"Good," he smiled winningly and grabbed her hand. "You have a visitor. Come on."

He pulled her to her feet and then let her go, turning to leave the room. He didn't see her legs give out.

He turned to find the source of the thump and looked down at Sakura on the floor.

"Sakura-chan! Are you alright?" He squatted down to see how she was doing.

"Aa. I'm fine. Just a little tired I guess," she smiled reassuringly.

She placed her arms on the bed and slowly pulled herself up, ignoring the pain and standing on her own two feet. He watched her struggle just to stand and frowned.

He reached out to take her arm and let her lean on him. He was startled when she brushed his hand away.

"No! I can do it! Let me do it on my own," she pleaded.

He nodded and watched her make small step after small, painful step. He was sad that she refused to let him support her, but he hid it well. He stayed always beside her to catch her if she fell. Eventually, walking got easier for her and by the time she reached her door, she could walk just fine on her own. She was a little stiff, but she was walking.

"See. I told you I could do it," she said proudly.

He smiled, eye creasing. "So you did."

She made her way to the living room, where she found Tsunade calmly sipping some of her sake.

"Ohayou, Tsunade-shishou," she called.

"Ah, Sakura-chan," Tsunade greeted. "Ohayou. How are you feeling?"

Tsunade motioned for the girl to take a seat beside her on the love seat. Kakashi dejectedly walked over to the big, empty couch and watched the two.

"I feel fine, Tsunade-shishou. Well, except I don't seem to have any chakra in me and it hurts to move. And my back is _really_ itchy."

"Oh? So many problems and pains. Which should I fix first?" Tsunade teased. "Perhaps I should get you a man and then he can take care of you instead of your busy shishou."

"Tsunade-shishou," Sakura pouted, blushing furiously. "You say that as if I'm incapable."

Kakashi chuckled at the two. Tsunade was just joking about getting her a man, right?

Tsunade laughed loudly at Sakura's response and put a hand on her forehead, running a quick scan.

'_She's not absorbing chakra anymore. That's good. The pain she's feeling is just low chakra not being able to dispel the side effects of such a large burst of chakra as she had last night. She'll be fine as soon as she replenishes her chakra supply. Her back bothers my though.'_

"Turn around," Tsunade commanded of her student. "And take off your shirt. I want to get a look at your back."

Sakura did what she was told unquestionably. Kakashi received a nice view of the leather and mesh that served for her undergarments. She was filling out up top. This did not bode well. Soon, he'd have to start beating the men off of his kunoichi with a stick. Preferably a nice, sharp stick with plenty of nails through it.

Tsunade made interested noises as she pulled down the mesh a little. Kakashi couldn't see what she was looking at, but it made the woman's brow furrow.

Tsunade reached up a hand and scratched Sakura's back. Sakura sighed in pleasure and tensed her back and pushed it harder into Tsunade's fingernails.

"Better?" the hokage asked, removing her hand and replacing the mesh.

"Very," Sakura said, pulling her shirt back on. Kakashi had no idea why, but he liked it better when it was off.

'_Just as I thought. Those wings on her back caused the itch. Why would a marking itch? Damn it all! This is so confusing! The sooner I get Sakura on her mission, the better.'_

"So, am I all better? Can I still go on the training mission with Anko?" the girl asked excitedly.

"I suppose." How could Tsunade turn her down when she looked at her with that face?

Sakura gave a cheer. Kakashi smiled at her attitude.

"What time is it?" she asked suddenly.

"About six-thirty," Tsunade informed. "Why?"

"Ack! I have to meet Anko at seven!"

The girl got up to get ready. She almost fell, but managed to recover before Kakashi had to catch her.

She bustled around: grabbing a pear for breakfast, putting together a quick survival pack for the mission, watering her plants, and handing a steak to Kakashi with instructions to feed Tiger-san. She had to go. She didn't think she could go roof hopping today, so she left out the front door with a heartfelt goodbye to her two houseguests.

The door shut with a foreboding snap. Tsunade and Kakashi had watched the whole ten minute process with silent awe. Despite her pathetic condition, Sakura managed to do quite a lot.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Kakashi asked the person who knew her best. It hurt to admit that he didn't know her the best anymore, but he had to face the facts.

"Do you always play mother hen, Kakashi? Or is it just with Sakura?"

Kakashi frowned at the hokage. He wasn't being a mother hen. He was just concerned.

"She's done this before. Don't worry so much."

He didn't know if he could stop worrying, but he tried, despite the horrible situations his paranoid imagination was cooking up. What if she fell into a giant pitcher plant and got eaten? What if a large, poisonous snake bit her because Anko pissed it off? What if she ate a poisonous plant by mistake? What if giant, pink loving squirrels carted her off, never to be seen again? What if her sweet, scented shampoo attracted a band of famished wild animals who thought she was a lollipop and ate her? What if she ran out of water and couldn't find a stream? What if...

He was feeling very dizzy. He put a hand to his head in effort to stop the spinning.

"Baka," she laughed at him. "I told you not to worry. She'll be fine."

He looked at the reassuring smile and couldn't find a way to believe her.

"After all, Anko is with her."

Why did that depress him more?

* * *

"Anko! Anko!"

The purple-haired woman turned from her dango to see her favorite pink-haired kunoichi waving at her down the road.

"Yo, Sakura-chan," Anko smiled, at the moment calm. The dango always did manage to calm her down in ways similar to throwing a steak at a snarling beast.

"I'm not late am I," Sakura wheezed. She had a hard time making it to gate nine in such little time.

Anko immediately took notice of her fellow kunoichi's sorry condition.

"What happened to you? Train with Gai again?"

"Something to that effect," she smiled sheepishly.

Anko finished her last dango with a savoring hum. Then she tackled Sakura.

"Sakura-chan! I haven't seen you in forever! How have you been? Has all of Konoha been good to my kunoichi? If any haven't start naming names! I'll kick all of their asses, one by one until they're all begging me for mercy! Then I'll make them apologize." A sadist to the end, Anko was.

Anko rubbed her face against Sakura's cheek and practically squeezed the life out of her in a cuddling, fearsome hug only Anko could give.

"I…missed you, too…Anko. Please… need…air…"

Anko let go of the girl, laughing happily and holding her at arms length. Anko's smile was entirely too catty for Sakura's liking. Her hesitancy proved well-founded when Anko pulled her back in for another crushing hug. This time, she didn't get away without a pinch to her rear. Anko laughed when Sakura jumped.

"So, what do we have planned for the mission?" she asked, rubbing her bum and glaring slightly.

"Well, first I wanted to check out this _huge_ pitcher plant. They shouldn't get that big and I wanted you to run a few tests. Then there's this snake's nest I wanted to clear out. The teme are just getting too numerous. I was thinking we could smoke them out. They would make some nice barbeque. I didn't bother to pack any food, so we'll have to forage. We'll rest for the night after that and then tomorrow I wanted to head into squirrel territory. I found a nice hot spring there recently. After that, it's totally up to you."

"That sounds great! Let's get started!"

They proceeded through the gate and entered hostile territory.

* * *

Kakashi was doing one-handed push-ups in training ground three and reading his book at the same time. Occasionally, he would glance in the direction of the Forest of Death.

'_Trust in her. She'll be fine,' _he reprimanded himself. He sighed, shook the thought from his head, and returned to his push-ups and dirty novel.

* * *

Sakura was getting some of her chakra back. It didn't hurt to move anymore. If she kept stretching her muscles, none of her would hurt. Her back tingled a little, bordering on an itch, but she could ignore it. Luckily, the weird pitcher plant wasn't far from Gate Nine.

It was huge! The base was as big around as Choji and the entire plant was almost half the height of the huge tree it grew on. Sakura couldn't believe it when she laid eyes on it.

"I told you it was big," Anko smirked.

"Kami-sama, what's it been eating?" she shouted.

"A couple of regular sized deer, lots of birds, a monkey or two, as one baby elk as far as I can tell."

"It's been here that long?"

"I don't know. I just took a look-see inside and saw the bones," the jounin shrugged.

"Wow. Well, let's check this out."

Sakura loved a good puzzle. She placed a hand on the rubbery surface of the outer layer. She ran her chakra through the thing and immediately found what was wrong.

"It's a jutsu," she affirmed.

"Really? But it's so big."

"A resizing jutsu has been placed on it several times. Was Aoba practicing in here recently?"

"Yeah, about two weeks ago. Why?"

"He told me that he had been working on a jutsu from a scroll he saw that made things bigger, but that he couldn't get it to work. He said he had tried it on lots of things, but there was no effect. Maybe it did work, but just needed time to take effect. I could dispel the jutsu, but I'm kind of low on chakra. Could you do it, Anko?"

"Me?" she asked, pointing to herself.

"Yes, you," Sakura smiled.

"But I don't know the jutsu to dispel it."

"I'll teach it to you. It's not that hard."

"Okay."

Sakura showed Anko the hand seals and gave her a few pointers on how to get it right. They didn't really have time for her to practice it, so she had to get it right the first time.

"And make your chakra surround the object like a bubble. Then simply push the bubble away and it'll take the jutsu with it. Once you drop the bubble, the jutsu will dispel because it won't have anything to work on. Simple as that."

"Right. Simple." Anko frowned, staring dubiously at her hands. Not everyone was as good at chakra control as Sakura. She sighed. "Might as well give it a shot."

She placed her hands near the monstrous plant and performed the seals. Then she molded the chakra just as Sakura had instructed.

"Good. Now pull the bubble away."

Anko did so.

"Now just let it go."

Anko did and was surprised when she heard a faint pop.

"What was that?"

"That was the chakra from the jutsu dispelling. Good job, Anko! On your first try. You're good."

Anko smirked proudly at the praise. "What did you expect from _the _Mitarashi Anko? I'm not a jounin for nothing you know."

Sakura laughed. "Hey, look!"

The plant was slowly shrinking down to normal size. The two kunoichi watched in fascination as it spit out bones. Most of them were partially dissolved and very slimy.

"Gross."

"Cool."

"Anko, is that a deer skull?"

"Yep."

"Ew."

"Yep. Ain't it great?"

Sakura shook her head. "Anko, you are so weird."

"Why, thank you, Sakura-chan."

"Don't mention it."

The pitcher plant was back to normal size and the two kunoichi had a schedule to keep.

"Alright! Let's go kill us some snake!"

"I hate snakes," Sakura mumbled under her breath.

* * *

Kakashi was doing chin-ups with his pinky fingers. He had already done two thousand for each of his other fingers. He was up to one thousand, nine-hundred ninety-one.

'_One thousand, nine-hundred ninety-two. One thousand, nine-hundred ninety-three. One thousand nine-hundred ninety-four.'_

He paused for a moment, sweating a little and allowing his breathing to catch up. He finished the rest quickly and dropped down from the metal bar that was embedded into a big tree. He sat at the base of the tree, opening up his book for a reading reward for his efforts. But first, he glanced in the direction of the Forest of Death.

'_She'll be fine,'_ he assured himself for the fourth time this day._ 'It's only the Forest of Death.'

* * *

_

"Sakura, behind you!"

Sakura turned and threw a kunai through the huge snake's skull. It was still moving. She needed a katana. Why, oh why did all the animals grow so big in the Forest of Death? She dodged the fangs as the hulking head struck. She dug another kunai into the thing's enormous eye and straight into the brain. It finally died, wriggling on the ground as the brain slowly shut down. She had no time to celebrate her victory as another large snake went for her head. She ducked and rolled away from it.

"Here, Sakura!" Anko yelled, throwing her the katana she had just taken out of a sealing scroll.

Really, Anko got the easy job. She was just using a fire jutsu to lure the snakes out of their underground den while Sakura took them out. She was really too tired for this. She deftly caught the katana and slashed at the snake's throat. The head came clear off and she turned to face two more of the brutes. She flipped to avoid the first and drove the katana deep into the thing's skull. She pulled it out and then sliced the second's head in half as it opened its mouth wide and moved to bite her.

There couldn't be many more of them, because now Anko was helping her kill them. There was a lull in the attacks on her and she looked around to take stock of the situation. Snake bodies littered the area. Anko was taking on three at once. Sakura moved to go help her, but spied one snake stealthily slithering away between the dead bodies. It had an egg in its mouth. Sakura followed the snake closely, leaving Anko to deal with the rest. She could handle them.

The snake slithered into another hole a few feet away from the previous nest. They were smart little critters, she realized. Once Anko cleared out this nest, she would expect them to migrate to a safer area and wouldn't have this place on her priority list for quite some time. For the snakes, it was like hiding in plain site. This snake had probably moved all the eggs to this new hole and was going to call the others soon to stop the attack and retreat. Anko would give chase, but the snakes would all scatter and run far away, only to return to this place later. Sakura couldn't allow that.

She threw a kunai at the snake and hit her target. The egg smashed inside the monster's mouth and it hissed a scream in fury. The massive snake turned its head at Sakura and with a killing intent, struck at the pink-haired kunoichi. She barely managed to dodge and on reflex, brought the katana up to pierce through the mouth. It wasn't dead, however. Its writhing body came up and smacked her away. She rolled a good distance before coming to a stop, her ribs bruised.

The katana was still embedded in the snake's mouth and whipped its head this way and that, trying to dislodge the weapon and regain its biting power. Sakura recovered before it could manage this and jumped on its hood. She grabbed both ends of the katana and pulled it back with all she was worth, straight into the back of the skull. She cut her hand in the process and her red blood mixed disgustingly with the snake's maroon blood. It gave a last shudder and fell lifeless to the ground.

Sakura had to put a foot of the snake to pull her katana out. She walked to the hole and peered in. At the entrance lay a whole clutch of eggs. Sakura sighed. She hated this part.

She brought the hilt of her sword down on each one, smashing them open to reveal halfway developed snake fetuses in pungent clear fluid, which stuck to the hilt of her katana in a slimy mess.

She left the baby snakes to die and walked back to Anko, who was finishing off the last snake.

"Whew," said Anko after the snake had fallen. "That was a workout."

"I'm exhausted," Sakura said, slumping down into a puddle of snake entrails and not caring. She was already covered in sticky, maroon blood and egg fluids. What would a few guts hurt?

"With just that? Man, Sakura-chan. You're out of shape," laughed Anko, Already cutting into one snake to procure some of the tasty meat.

"I didn't have very much energy when we started," she reminded.

"That's true. Tell you what; I'll prepare the meat while you go find some plants to season it with. You're better at that part than I am anyway."

Sakura nodded and slowly rose from her sitting position. She walked off into the forest, scanning the ground for likely suspects. The ground was somewhat barren of green, growing things. The trees were so high and close together that not much light was allowed to reach the bottom floor. If she wanted good spices, she would have to climb. She didn't have the energy right now for that, so she continued wandering until she found a small clearing. Vegetation exploded here.

She found many herbs they could use: rosemary, thyme, peppermint, parsley, some wild onions that looked much starved for water, and some mustard greens. She also saw many poisonous plants that looked and smelled rather tempting, but Tsunade had taught her well about which plants to stay away from.

She picked some of the rosemary and onions and decided to make a marinade with the mustard greens and peppermint by boiling them in some water. She backtracked her way to camp, not really remembering which way she had taken.

When she reached camp, Anko had already laid some fine pieces of meat. Sakura was awed and Anko brushed it off, saying it was nothing. Sakura started the fire, placed a grate over it as well as a small pot. She filled it with water and threw in the peppermint and mustard greens to steep. She then chopped the rosemary and onion in fine slices with a kunai and set that aside to use as a seasoning. She also got out the salt rub she had brought with her and began rubbing down some of the thinner, tougher pieces of meat and set them on a rock to dry in the sun. They would have enough snake jerky to last the full three days.

Neither of the kunoichi was worried about attracting animals with the smell of cooking, because there was enough snake to go around. Every now and then, a badger or tanuki would waddle up and grab one or the carcasses. They even saw a fox. Anko waited patiently for the meat to cook, laying on a rock near the drying jerky and taking a nap in the warm sun from the small break in branches.

Sakura stared at the fire.

"What am I doing out here?" she asked herself miserably.

'_**Training!'**_

"Training," she scoffed. "I'm low on chakra and feel like I should be in bed. I shouldn't be out here. In what way am I training?"

'**_Building stamina? I don't know. But, don't you feel there's something here that we have to do?'_**

"I don't know. I suppose I feel drawn here a little."

'_**Suppose nothing! We're supposed to be out here. I just haven't figured out why yet.'**_

'_What? You mean even you don't know?'_

'_**If I knew, don't you think I would have said something?'**_

'_No. You tend to keep things from me unless it's in my "best interest" to know.'_

'_**True! All I can tell you is that something calls us to this place. I want to know what it is! It's gotta be great! Shannaro!'**_

Sakura sighed at her inner self. There was no arguing with herself, sometimes. This still felt stupid. Sakura stopped staring into the fire and performed the cooking duties.

Most of the water had boiled off from the greens and peppermint. What was left was a thin goop with lots of greens and peppermint floating in it. Sakura took this of the fire and took it over to the prepared meat. She took out a kunai and slathered the stuff onto the meat. It sizzled slightly from the heat of the substance. Sakura took her kunai and generously spread the marinade all along the meat, effectively basting it. She then took the rosemary and onion she had chopped and sprinkled it over the lot. She then brought the meat over and set it on the fire to cook all the way through. Eel was nice rare, but snake always tasted better when it was blackened.

She didn't have to wake Anko. The smell of cooking snake woke her up just fine. She was hungry and tried to grab at the unfinished meal, but Sakura slapped her hand away. She pouted, but Sakura refused to give her a piece until it was done.

"Anko," she asked curiously, handing the woman a piece of flesh Sakura thought was suitably cooked, "isn't your summoning snakes?"

"Aa. And?" the woman rejoined, tearing into the meat ravenously.

"Don't you have a problem eating them?"

"Sweetie, they wouldn't hesitate to eat me. Why should I hesitate to eat them?"

Sakura had nothing to say to that.

"It's just a good thing that the summonses are so mindless when it comes to following orders. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure they would have eaten me by now."

Sakura shivered. She took a piece for herself and handed another to Anko.

"What is this seasoning?" the snake charmer asked.

"It's a mustard green and peppermint marinade topped with rosemary and onion. I know it's a weird combination, but it was all I had on hand," Sakura smiled sheepishly.

"You're right. That is weird. But somehow, it works."

They finished up and Sakura laid the jerky on the fire, drying it the rest of the small way it had to go. They stored it away and were soon on their way to "squirrel territory" and the hot springs.

* * *

"Yo, Kakashi!"

Kakashi looked up from his book at Genma, who had landed on the roof beside him.

"What is it, Genma?" he asked tiredly, turning back to his book.

"Hey, man. I haven't seen you for a while. Where've you been?"

"Missions."

"Yeah, that's nice. Listen, come to the bar with me tonight."

Kakashi raised one suspicious eye at his friend. "Why?"

"I've got this really hot date with this total babe, but she's got a friend with her and I need you to…"

"No."

"Why the hell not?"

"My apartment's been taken over by Pakkun's wife. I can't play double hook-up tonight."

"Damn. This screw things up," the senbon sucker swore, turning his head to the side and trying to think up a plan. Well, just because Kakashi couldn't get lucky tonight didn't mean he couldn't.

"Well, you don't have to hook up with her or anything," Genma reasoned. "All you have to do is keep the other one entertained."

"And what's in it for me?" asked the ever-shrewd Copy-nin.

"I'll pay for all your drinks."

Kakashi thought about it for a moment. He could spend the night reading his beloved _Icha Icha_ or he could spend the night drinking. He did have a lot of stress worrying about Sakura all day. Some sake sounded nice.

"Deal," he said, rolling up from his lazy position and following Genma to the bar.

* * *

There was a knock on Tsunade's door.

"Enter," she called, busily filling out paperwork.

Ibiki walked purposely, seeming to fill the whole office with his presence.

"Sit," Tsunade said, motioning with her brush at the couch to the side of her desk.

Ibiki strode over and did as he commanded. He waited patiently for Tsunade to notice him.

Tsunade finally looked up from the paperwork and turned to him.

"Something on your mind, Ibiki?"

"Should I give you my usual report first or should we get right down to it?"

Tsunade glanced at her paperwork. "Let's get right down to it," she said to him.

"Why did you give Kakashi that mission?"

"To watch Sakura-chan?"

"Yes. My squad would be more than enough to watch her. I'm actually a little insulted."

"I wanted to give them a chance to get to know each other again. I thought maybe they could get close like they once were. It seems their not doing a very good job of that."

"They're not," Ibiki agreed firmly.

"What do you know?" she asked, leaning forward to show her complete attention.

"He keeps botching it up. They've had a couple of fights. Each time, he manages to get her forgiveness, but I can tell she still doesn't trust him. I'm starting to think she wants to get away from him. He's over at her apartment all the time."

"He never was good at close relationships," she shook her head. "Oh well. At least he's diligent with the mission. I'll let him go a little longer and then I'll leave it to you."

"It would be an honor, hokage-sama," Ibiki bowed to her.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Now, go," she shooed.

Ibiki smirked and left her to her paperwork.

Tsunade looked up as soon as the door closed. She sighed. The man was getting too close too soon. The way he was going, he would probably push her away for good. Sakura just wasn't the type to suddenly become friends again after such a bad, long separation. He would smother her into punching him through a wall. She wouldn't allow their relationship to fall like that. Kakashi really was a fool when it came to Sakura.

* * *

They were in squirrel territory now. It was really just a section of the forest where you couldn't walk two steps without seeing a squirrel. Usually, the little tree rats were friendly and cute and clung to her hair like they wanted to stay with her forever. But now, all she could see was the calculating eyes from behind high tree branches. It was starting to creep her out.

"Anko," she cried, sidling up close to the snake woman. The red squirrel eyes were practically leering at her.

"I know," assured her partner for this mission. "Avoid eye contact. Make no threatening movements and we should be fine."

"Why are they acting this way?" she asked, keeping her eyes to the floor and her movements calm to follow Anko's orders.

"I don't know, but I don't like it."

Suddenly there was a ferocious roar. Sakura grabbed onto Anko's arm tightly at the scare. There was an echoing war cry from all the squirrels in the tree. They all leaped down and circled the pair of kunoichi. They were trapped.

Anko laughed and pulled out a kunai.

"Anko, what are you doing?" Sakura squeaked, not really sure if she was scared of the fuzzy, little tree rats or for the fuzzy, little tree rats.

"Negotiating," she replied simply.

"With squirrels?" she screeched.

Anko ignored her.

"You're a bunch of tiny squirrels," she taunted. "Tiny, little rats with hairy tails. What can you do? I eat stuff lots bigger than you for breakfast. Leave now and I might not kill you."

"You call that negotiating?" Sakura yelled at her savoir angrily.

"It's the truth. Kami-sama, Sakura-chan, they're just squi…"

There was a deafening roar and from behind a fallen tree popped the biggest, scariest, ugliest squirrel either kunoichi had ever seen. It gnashed its razor-sharp, bucked teeth at Anko. It let out another terrifying roar and charged.

The ring of smaller, tamer squirrels also converged on the pair, somehow ganging up on Sakura enough to knock her down. They held her still weak limbs down and started to carry her off. Two jumped of her face and she watched as they fingered her hair, chattering back and forth like an old married couple. Sakura screamed.

Anko was too busy fighting off the huge, rabid squirrel to save her friend. No matter which way she turned, the squirrel was always in her path. She tried beating it out of her way, but it dodged each strike with the instincts only animals have. She heard Sakura scram and made a desperate rush for the retreating pink head she could just see over the edge of the fallen tree. The massive squirrel took advantage of her inattention and slammed her into a nearby rock. Anko hit her and everything went fuzzy for a few moments. She saw a hulking brown blob shoot out of her vision. She dazedly followed its movement with her eyes. She saw a spot of pink lifted to sit on top of the brown blob and then she didn't see either.

"Damn it. Sakura-chan…"

Anko blacked out.

* * *

Kakashi had a bad feeling. It was like there was something he needed to do. Like there was something he forgot and if he didn't remember something bad would happen. It was seriously ruining his sake. Of course, it could just be his wishful thinking trying to make up an excuse to get away from the blithering idiot laughing annoyingly on his shoulder.

The woman was beautiful: thick, waist length red hair; full, pink lips; dewy blue eyes. But the woman had only a half a brain cell in her pretty little head. She laughed at every single thing he said, whether it was funny or not. She even laughed when he poured his sake. And Kami-sama, she had a voice to kill. He would hang himself if he had to listen to her head-splitting squeak for any time longer than tonight. Thankfully, he had plenty of sake to drown his headache in. Genma would pay dearly.

And the twit was clingy as hell. The moment Genma had introduced them, the girl had latched onto him like some happiness-sucking leech. He tried to pull his arm away; he really had. He even went so far as to raise it over his head. The girl had refused to let go and had even said that it was a fun ride, could they do it again. He went straight for the sake bottle after that.

She was rubbing circles on his chest and laughing like she was on drugs. Kakashi seriously expected that to be just the case. No one could be this… this…

She suddenly put her hands a little lower and Kakashi had to resist punching her lights out for her audacity to touch _him_ there. Where was the foreplay? In a true female seduction, he should be the one instigating the touching, not her, and he wouldn't touch her with a thirty foot pole. A woman had to be irresistible or she wasn't worth having. If only she would go away and leave him to his sake.

He removed the annoying woman's hand and gave it back to her. She didn't get the hint, because she was soon kissing his neck. Kakashi could have cried. Of all the women, he had to get stuck with the sluttish, shrill air-head.

He missed Sakura. She never clung to him like an evil leech and her laugh was always nice on the ears. He would take her to the bar with him anytime. No wait. She was underage and not allowed. Hm. He'll just have to bring the sake to her. Genma would pay dearly.

Kami, he was drunk. The girl next to him was actually starting to become bearable. He wished Genma would hurry up and leave with his date so he could go home.

He missed Sakura. And his bad feeling was coming back.

* * *

Anko sat in the bushes, waiting for the perfect opportunity to rescue the sweet cherry blossom tied up in the small clearing. The squirrels were running around her, stopping every now and then to stand n their hind legs and twirl around. It was like some strange tribal dance. Poor Sakura was wrapped in vines. How the little rats managed that, she would never know. The girl looked scared shitless, but to her credit, she wasn't screaming like a maniac about to be sacrificed, which at this point looked like a very good possibility.

"This is ridiculous!" Anko heard her wail. "I'm going to be killed by squirrels! I always thought it would be a nice quick death at the hands of some ubber strong enemy-nin, but no! Haruno Sakura is going to be disgracefully sacrificed by squirrels! Why, Kami-sama? Why?" she screamed to the heavens, eyes glassy.

'_Don't worry, Sakura-chan! Your night in skimpy armor, Mitarashi Anko, is here to save the day!'_

First she had to find a way to distract that huge squirrel from before. It was sitting off to the side, happily crunching a pile full of acorns with a few of its smaller tribe mates. The thing's smashed-in face bulged out grotesquely from the nuts it was storing in its cheeks. Anko felt the huge knot on her head with contempt. She owed that squirrel a beating. But first, she would have to help Sakura.

One of the small squirrels with two pink feathers on its head ran down from the tree. All the squirrels stopped dancing around Sakura and turned to face the other squirrel that ran up to the top of Sakura's pretty pink head. It stood on its hind legs and began chattering madly at the others. Every now and then, it would raise a lock of Sakura's hair and shake it at the others. The other squirrels watched with rapt attention, including the big one.

The stupid squirrel in the pink feathers raised its hands to the sky shown through the leaves. It was a pink with the setting sun. The other squirrels followed the chief squirrel's example and Anko saw her opening. She swooped in, kicking the big squirrel into a tree. It hit its head hard and didn't get up when it hit the ground. Anko then threw a smoke bomb. The smoke filled the area and the squirrels screamed. Anko raced through the smoke,, grabbed Sakura, and high-tailed it out of there.

The chief squirrel held onto the top of her head and refused to be knocked off by Anko's fist. When they broke from the smoke, it signaled the others and they were swarmed by the little rats. There were hundreds of them. Fifty of them jumped on Anko's leg and she fell, turning so as not to land on her precious cargo.

"That's it! Fry you little demons! Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

Many squirrels ran away with singed tails. A great many lay dead as burnt corpses in the wake of Anko's attack. The squirrels didn't attack again. The chief hopped off of Sakura and ran in fright, but not before pulling out a few strands of her hair on the way down.

"Oh, Anko," said Sakura sadly as she looked at the barbequed squirrels. "Did you have to?"

"They were trying to eat you, Sakura-chan," Anko deadpanned.

"We don't know that for sure," she defended.

"Would you have liked to stay all tied up in the center of rabid squirrels and find out?"

Sakura shook her head emphatically in the negative.

"All right then."

Anko unbound Sakura and she walked over to the clearing they had just run from. The huge squirrel was still there, lying unconscious.

"What are you doing?"

"I want to see what made him so big."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Sakura-chan."

"And satisfaction brought it back," she replied cheekily with a smile. She placed a hand on the passed out squirrel and ran a quick scan.

"It's a jutsu. Aoba must have been using it on the fauna as well as the flora."

"Well, let's get rid of it quick. Before it wakes up."

"You'll have to do it. I don't have much in the way of chakra."

Anko performed the dispel jutsu and the squirrel shrunk down to size.

"Hey, it's still ugly as sin. I thought that might have been a side-effect or something. Damn, that's ugly."

"Anko, be nice. It's actually so ugly it's kind of cute."

"Look, it's coming around. Watch those teeth, Sakura-chan."

The squirrel was indeed waking up. It let out a squeak and shook its head fiercely with one paw gripping its head in pain. The thing apparently had no hard feeling toward Anko, because the first thing it did was head for the large pile of acorns sitting under a nearby tree. It didn't reach them however, as two of the squirrels who were friendly sitting on its shoulder not five minutes ago ran out of hiding and started hitting the poor, ugly squirrel for trying to steal their nuts. Anko and Sakura watched the whole thing with mild interest.

"Aw, the poor thing. It looks like the others pick on him."

"Pansy," scoffed Anko.

The little squirrel was beaten away and eventually hid behind Sakura's legs. She picked the thing up in great pity and tried to comfort the shivering creature. It snuggled into her hand sweetly; it was glad to have some kindness directed toward it, even if it was from a kunoichi who was trying to beat him up earlier.

"A bet he didn't even want to fight. He just wanted some acorns and the only way to get some was to fight for that crazy chief squirrel. Poor, poor little squirrel," she said as she cuddled the thing. It soaked up the love. "Those mean squirrels bullied you didn't they. Don't worry little thing. Sakura-kaa-san won't let anyone pick on you ever again. Never ever."

"You were picked on when you were little, weren't you," Anko said to the crazy pink-haired. She was thoroughly disgusted with the display of affection for a squirrel that was trying to eat the eccentric girl just a few minutes ago.

Sakura started. "W-What makes you say that?"

"You have way too much sympathy for that damn squirrel."

"Maybe," she said, placing the squirrel on top of her head, where it latched on and buried itself in her pink locks. "Come on. Let's go," she said cheerfully.

"You aren't keeping it are you?" asked Anko incredulously.

"Aa. Why not?"

Anko just shook her head resignedly and headed off into the forest.

"Come on, Pinky. The hot spring is this way."

* * *

Kakashi took a long sip of his sake. Well, long for him anyway. It only last about three seconds. Enough for someone to get a quick peek at his face, but he didn't worry. Every one at the table was too drunk to see straight, including Genma and his soon-to-be conquest for the night.

The twit on his arm was still trying to seduce him. It had been well over an hour now. He hoped she would just give it up, but she was apparently too stupid to know when to quit. He had had to remove her hand from his lower areas three times already and it was really starting to tick him off. He wouldn't mind it so much if she would just stop laughing that Kami-awful laugh. He just couldn't get into the mood when that gut-wrenching shriek reached his ears. Kami, someone save him!

Genma answered his prayers when he got up to leave with his date. He gave Kakashi a victorious smile and threw down his tab card he had with the bar.

"Here, Kakashi. Live it up! I'm about to go have me some fun!" he had tried to whispered through an alcohol fogged brain. Kakashi had waved him away and took the card with a mischievous smile. Genma would pay dearly.

"Come on, Beautiful. I know this great spot…" Kakashi heard the man slur as he went out the door.

"Hey," said the red-head beside him. "Where's Kari-chan going?"

"To have some fun with Genma," he replied. "Do you want to have some fun, too?"

She nodded stupidly with a lewd smile on her face.

"I know just the guy," he said, looking around the room and spotting one of Tsunade's flunkies. Perfect.

He got up from the booth and walked over to the man at the bar. He didn't have to help the girl out of her seat because she was still permanently attached to his arm.

"This is Izumo," he introduced as the dark-haired man looked up at their appearance. "Izumo, this is my friend…"

Damn. He didn't even know her name.

"Kigali," she offered.

Kakashi looked over at his "friend" and smiled. It seemed she was quite taken with the jounin before her. Kakashi slipped his arm out of her grasp and pushed her on Izumo. He was too drunk to do much else but catch her and the leech had found a new victim.

"Have fun you two," he said happily with a wave as he sauntered off before there were any objections.

He walked up to the bartender a long way down the bar and asked for seven bottles of his finest sake. The bartender kindly brought them out and even bagged them when Kakashi asked. He handed over Genma's card, not even worrying about the price. The bartender swiped it through the machine and handed the card back to Kakashi without problem. Kakashi pocketed the card and decided Genma would have to pay some more. He took the sake and exited the fine establishment.

He was drunk. He had trouble keeping his feet in a straight line and decided to forego the roof hopping for now. He laughed at his good fortune. Finally, thank Kami, he was rid of the leech! He would have laughed hysterically, but that wasn't his style, so he settled for a quiet chuckle.

He made it to Sakura's window without incident.

* * *

Sakura stripped down and stepped into the steaming water. A relaxed sigh passed her lips. This felt wonderful.

"Bath time!"

There was a great splash as Anko cannon-balled into the spring. Sakura yelped as the she was assaulted with a large wave of hot water before she was ready.

"Anko!"

"What?" said the naked woman innocently.

"We're supposed to be relaxing."

"I am relaxing. This is how I relax," she said as she laid on her back and pit water up as if she were a marble fountain.

Sakura shook her head and tried to ignoring Anko's antics as the jounin swam energetically to and fro through the sizeable spring. She leaned back against the warm rocks behind her and looked up at the sliver of moon with hooded eyes.

This was nice. There was no Kakashi to cook for, no Kakashi hanging on her while she tried to go about her business, no hospital patients to worry about, no medical scrolls to study, no bills to pay, no missions to prep for, no assholes constantly trying to feel her up, no one she had to smile politely for. Just her and the moon. No worries. She could get used to this.

"Ack!" she yelled as water was spit in her face. She glared at the sadistically laughing Anko.

"Don't let your guard down, Sakura-chan."

"No fair! I don't do that kind of stuff to…"

There was a very squirrelfish scream from camp. The ugly squirrel came running up the path and headed straight for Sakura's hair. It latched on with a death grip and shivered in her hair. Sakura had taken the sleeping squirrel off her head when she had gone to take a bath. It appeared to be a wrong move as the squirrel was absolutely terrified at not being near her. Sakura sighed. She had picked up another clingy stray.

Anko laughed at her and she looked on helplessly as she tried to calm the squirrel down before it got so scared it peed in her hair.

She set it in the warm water and it squeaked at first, but was soon soothed by the warm water. Hot springs relaxed everyone it seemed.

"What are you going to calm him?" Anko asked, swimming over and poking the squirrel that was languidly swishing around by Sakura's arm. It chirped at Anko furiously and latched onto Sakura's arm.

"I don't know."

"We could die his fur purple and name him Grape," Anko smirked evilly.

"Why does that sound just like something you would do?" Sakura deadpanned, remembering the purple squirrel she had as a child.

"Because it is something I would do," she said, paddling off to the opposite side of the spring. "It's just a stupid squirrel. Just give it any name."

"How about Duck?"

"'Duck?' What kind of name is that?"

"It's a good one. Remember earlier?"

Sakura and Anko had witnessed first had why the squirrel's face looked so smashed in. The thing had tried to jump from tree branch to tree branch following Sakura, but had miscalculated and ran straight into another branch in the way of the target limb. Anko had to catch the poor thing before it hit the ground.

"Why name it Duck? It obviously hasn't learned how to."

"Exactly. Maybe the name will bring it good luck."

Anko thought about. "Hm. Makes sense, I guess."

"Yosh! That settles it. From now on, your name is Duck!" she said to the little squirrel. It chattered happily in reply. Anko shook her head and wandered off. Sakura returned to her rock and continued gazing at the moon.

This was really nice. She felt like she could stretch herself out and not have to rely on anyone. Sakura needed people, but every now and then, she got sick of them. Sometimes, she just wanted to be alone. And if she had gotten one more hug from Kakashi, she probably would have screamed at the strangeness of it all.

It was just plain weird for him to be so clingy. Hell, she was surprised he even touched her that first morning, let alone hugged her. She had gotten used to it to where she could relax when he did, but it was extremely unnerving when she didn't ignore it. With all the other recent changes in her life, Kakashi behavior was just too much. Maybe he would be back to normal when she got back.

Well, it was kind of nice to feel appreciated, even if he was starting to crowd her. And she didn't really mind getting a hug every now and then. Maybe he could find a nice balance between the "hands-off" Kakashi she used to know and the "nuzzle Sakura-chan till she squeaks" Kakashi now thoroughly entrenched in the battlefield of her life. She really hoped he would.

For now, though, she wouldn't worry about it. For now, she would just let the hot water soothe her and sing absentmindedly to the stars.

* * *

Kakashi stumbled into her apartment. It showed just how much alcohol he had partaken that even his natural, slouching grace was faltering. He paused for a moment to regain his footing, but was swept away with the feeling of the apartment.

The only light was from the sliver of moon in the dark sky. The whole apartment was quiet and peaceful. There wasn't even the tick of a clock. There was only the tranquil, thrumming silence that somehow offered comfort to his lonely mind. He could smell her on the air as if she were standing next to him. He felt all at once sheltered and free. It felt like coming home.

He bowed his head and made his way through the jungle of her living room to the kitchen. She really had too much love for growing things.

He put away the sake and looked for something to eat. In the refrigerator, he found waffle batter with instructions on how to make them. He also found a small plate of leftovers for him to heat up and eat. When had she found time for that? He smiled. She was always trying to look out for everyone.

He ate the still tasty meal quietly, not wanting to disturb the serene atmosphere throughout the home. The sake was beginning to run out of his system as his high metabolism quickly filtered it out of him.

As the sake passed through, he felt his bladder tighten. He would wash the dishes after relieving himself. After his quick trip to the bathroom, he washed the dishes and put them in their proper place after they had been dried. He made himself a cup of her expensive tea and sat down at her table for some quiet reflection.

Had he really bought sake for her apartment? Kami, she was fifteen, just turned. What the hell did he think he was doing?

But it was just so hard not to share with her. Every time he thought of her bright green eyes, he wanted to spend every waking moment- hell, even the sleeping moments- by her side. He wanted her to know all there was to know about him, and she already knew more than he ever let most others know. She was just so accepting of him. Of everyone, really. Sure, she yelled and acted childish and pitched a fit at the slightest things. But she loved him. He knew it when he looked into her deep, sparkling eyes. He was her friend and she loved him for no other reason than that.

Kami, he couldn't help missing her. She would be gone for three days. It was just three fucking days. He should be able to go without her for _three_ days. He had spent almost two and a half years without her. And now, after one week in her presence, he didn't want to go one full day without her.

He was in trouble. He was royally fucked.

This was stupid, moronic, imbecilic, utterly nonsensical! He could get by without Sakura. He was Kakashi no Sharingan- the loner, the S-classed soloist, the ANBU lone wolf…

And he dearly missed Sakura.

He ran a hand through his hair and pulled down his mask to take a long, slow sip of the fine tea. He brought his glass down with a sigh.

What was he going to do? These feelings were hazardous to his proficiency as a shinobi. He wouldn't be able to go on missions without rushing to get back to her. Rushing made you botch the mission, got you killed.

He couldn't just stop seeing her. That would hurt both of them. But he couldn't just let this feeling grow. It was bad enough as it is. He could gradually stop spending time with her; maybe he could fill his day with things other than the presence of her. But did he want to?

Damn it! She was his ex-student, not his comfort device. He already had one of those in the form of a little orange book. But didn't he deserve at least two?

He had to stop thinking that way. He couldn't keep getting this close. She was liable to turn him away if he kept taking their relationship by leaps and bounds. He decided he would start small. He would start by not being so clingy. He would hug her less often and he would act as if he was still not dependent on the pink-haired girl. However, he would not leave her.

He would continue to share his time with her.

He finished his tea with a mind significantly more at peace. He placed the cup in the sink and made ready for bed. He decided he wouldn't sleep on her couch. He knew the spare bedroom's bed to be too hard on his back. Should he…

It wasn't really productive to his plan to regain his independence. What the hell? She wouldn't mind as long as she wasn't in it. He lay down on her soft bed, placed his nose in her pillow, and inhaled her intoxicating scent. He was soon asleep with her soothing smell to lull him into dreams.

He had never slept so peacefully.

* * *

Sakura took another bath in the morning. This one was quicker than the last, as she and Anko had spent hours lazing in the wonderful water. It wasn't as good as the first one, being she had to get out before she wanted, but it was still good. She walked back to their small camp, toweling her hair dry.

Anko was still snoring in her tent. Sakura shook her head with a small smile and went about her business. She checked their canteens. Both were getting low and would have to be refilled soon. She would ask Anko if there was a nearby stream when the woman woke up.

Seeing as how Anko would probably be asleep for another hour and she had regained most of her chakra while she had slept, she thought she would go for a quick, refreshing run through the woods. She would stay within screaming distance, as she was told repeatedly to do, and she doubted Anko would mind.

She entered the dense foliage with a light heart. It was a beautiful day. The shed tree leaves bellow her added a slight bounce to her step and an occasional wind would blow through the great trunks to cool her face. She could have made better time hopping through the treetops, but she wanted to save her energy. There was no reason to go up there anyway. Everything around her was green and growing and swelling with life: algae grew on the rocks; tufts of grass poked up every now and then; ferns and bushes popped up everywhere, not minding the shady quality of life under the canopy; animal tracks riddled the vegetation, shown only by the few breaks in greenery. Even when nothing grew, it was a sign of life.

Her ears detected the faint gurgle of running water as she approached the north of the camp on her little trek through the forest. There was a stream close by, so she wouldn't have to ask Anko. She headed back to campo to retrieve the canteens.

Sakura was surprised to see Anko yawning widely as she broke into the small clearing where they had made camp.

"Where you been?" the woman asked as she scratched her stomach.

"Just running," she answered as she picked up the canteens. "I found a stream nearby and I was just going to refill these."

Anko nodded and got up, peeling off her shirt as she did so.

"Don't go too far," she warned. "I'm going to go take a nice, long bath. Pick up camp when you come back?"

"Sure," Sakura smiled. Anko walked away, presumably to the hot spring.

Sakura didn't mind the work. Anko always made her do everything when they were out training. Sakura thought it was the least she could do when the generous snake woman let her weak and often troublesome self accompany her on her Forest excursions.

Sakura left camp for the stream. She back-tracked her steps and idly noted that she needed to step on her stealth.

She had fun tracking the different paths she had taken on her way too camp. It was easier than it should have been, but it was entertaining to watch all the twists and turns she had taken without even realizing it. She came to the spot where she had branched off from her running circle to go back to camp and decided to continue her game by following one of the larger animal paths. Something big must have come through. Maybe one of the giant elk that lived in the Forest? The low branches on the trees were bent and broken, meaning the thing had to be at least twelve feet high. The trail was old, so she didn't have to worry even if she was following a predator. She started to worry a little when she stumbled on a puddle of blood.

The puddle soon became puddles. Large puddles. What ever came through here was hurt pretty badly.

Sakura's healing instinct was kicking in. She wanted to know what was hurt, how badly, and what she could do to fix it. This blood was a few days old. Half-congealed, it stuck to the soles of her sandals as she squelched through the mess, there being no easy way to avoid all the blood. Surely whatever had been bleeding was dead by now. She was saddened by the thought.

She kept her senses alert. There was no telling what scavengers the carcass had drawn and she didn't want to be surprised. The smell of forest and blood filled her nose. The shade and light playing on the forest floor was harsh on her sharp eyes. The rush of water was crisp in her ears.

She was getting closer to the stream. She could hear the mindless babble as it ran its course. Her ears also picked up another sound. It was like a faint growling that meshed with the water's noise almost perfectly.

Growling meant a predator. Sakura slowed her pace and made sure to make no noise. She creeped slowly toward the two sounds. The brush and trees were thinning out. She would have to approach carefully if she wanted to remain hidden. The wind caressed her face and she thanked her god for the good fortune to be downwind.

It was clearly a growl now. A pained growl. She could hear it well above the brook. If this was the wounded animal, how was it still alive?

She came to reach the brush just before the break of the clearing. She couldn't see through the thick ferns, but that meant that whatever was there could not see her. She hesitated. There were two courses of action here. She could forgo the water and get Anko for back-up. Or, she could try to save the creature that was probably on the brink of death. From the growls, whatever was in there most assuredly had teeth.

The thing let out a small, piteous moan and there was no choice.

Sakura burst through the shrubbery and into the clearing, prepared to rush the poor thing and use all her newfound chakra to heal it. The sight that met her stopped her in her tracks.

The largest, fiercest, most beautiful tiger she had ever seen lay bleeding next to the clear, shimmering stream.

Its gaze was fixed ferociously on her. Sakura looked deep into its eyes, for a moment disoriented. They were deep blood-red Sharingan.

After the moment, she found her ability to move and gazed with concern at the deep, red wounds that ran across its back and belly. She took a few cautious steps toward the great, weakened beast. She was almost near enough to touch him (for there was nothing else this fine, masculine specimen could be but male) when he gave a tremendous snarl.

She pulled back her hand quick enough to avoid the teeth as he turned and snapped at her. She new the quick movement had hurt him for she saw fresh blood slide down his already well matted side. Sakura scowled.

She glared up in his face. He bared his fangs and hissed in return.

"Now, look, you," she scolded, "there's no need to bite me when all I'm trying to do is help. Please sit down and be still before you hurt yourself anymore than you already are!"

He let his raised hackles relax and he was no longer baring his teeth at her. He was, however, still tense and glaring at her.

"That's better," she cooed. "I'm a medic. I can help. Now, be a good great tiger and I'll try to stitch you up."

She slowly reached a hand up to touch his side, always prepared to draw back at the slightest sign of another attempt to bite it off. He let her place one hand and then the other on him and she ran a quick scan. She found most of the wounds to be simple lacerations. Most of them were ragged and a few much deeper than she would like, but simple enough to heal.

In fact, he was already starting to heal on his own. He must have spent many a day fighting for his life in this very glade. He had fought bravely and now he was coming along nicely. It wouldn't take all her chakra to spur his cells to reproduce more quickly. She was more worried about infection. He already had quite a few cultures of harmful bacteria growing that would definitely kill him if left untreated.

She frowned and got to work.

"We'll have you well in no time," she soothed, automatically slipping into her doctor's persona.

The tiger relaxed as her warm chakra seeped into him.

"That's it. You're such a good patient," she smiled fractionally.

She then placed her full concentration on healing the poor animal. Out of curiosity, she had dabbled in veterinary medicine, but she was far from an expert. Luckily, tigers are mammals and therefore have many system similarities to humans. Luckier, she only had to heal a scratched stomach and liver and the rest has tissue and bone.

She put most of her effort into burning off the bacterial infection. Once that was done, she closed up the various lacerations. She left some to heal on their own. Her chakra was very low by now and she wanted enough left to be able to stay awake. As thankful as the tiger might be for her help, she doubted he would be grateful enough to not eat her.

She finished quickly, but felt much drained from healing such grievous wounds. She had also had to stimulate his blood cell production to help counteract the severe blood loss. She wiped the sweat off her brow and backed away from the terrific, majestic beast.

"All done. See? I told you I could help," she smiled happily at the twelve foot tiger.

It looked back with a self-satisfied grin.

"_Well done, cub."_

"Who said that?" she asked, glancing around warily.

The tiger made a couple of deep-throated coughs. Was it _laughing_?

"_I am the tiger, cub."_

The voice was a deep timber that seemed to penetrate her mind fiercely.

"Impossible. Who are you? Show yourself!"

The tiger laughed again. This was seriously freaking her out.

"_Your family crest tells me you are Haruno. Are you the promised cub?"_

"Um…"

This was beyond belief. She should run away now. She was starting to believe the tiger was talking to her. How much chakra had she used?

The tiger did not wait for her to stutter through a response. He got up from his languid position and sniffed her.

"_As I thought,"_ the voice said with certainty. _"You will come with me, my cub."_

"What? Hell no! Who the hell do you think you are?"

The tiger stood up to his full, impressive height.

"_I am Gran Arise Krai, leader of the Mangekyou Tigers of Fair Konoha. And you, little one…"_

The tiger leaned in and Sakura saw the tomoe of his eyes whirling.

"Kami, it is you speaking,' she whispered breathlessly.

"…_are my new cub."_

Sakura's world went black, her last sight being blood-red Sharingan.

The giant tiger chuckled and picked her up in his teeth. He then gently draped his savior across his back. The great beast then sauntered off into the forest, his grey and black-stripped coat blending in perfectly with the shadows of the forest floor.

* * *

He woke from the most peaceful sleep he ever had. He was a little surprised, at first, to find himself in Sakura's bed. He was more than a little disappointed to find she was not there with him. Then he remembered the events of last night and his new decision. He sighed and reluctantly got out of her bed.

It was still dark when he visited the memorial. As always during his time at the memorial, he thought. His thoughts currently just happened to revolve around one pink-headed kunoichi.

What _would _Obito say to his feeling for the girl? His long-lost friend would either scold him for being the nasty pervert he is, preying on young girls half his age, or he would berate him for again not following his heart and, damn the rules, kissing her senseless because _he _sure would had their positions been reversed. The only question was- which way would Obito scold him? And why did Obito sound so Obito-like in his head? Since when did Obito like Sakura in that way? And who the hell said anything about kissing his ex-_student_? Or was it _ex-_student?

Okay, so maybe there wasn't just one question. The memorial gave him no answers, so after paying his usual two hour long respects, he returned to Sakura's.

He watched the sunrise from her couch, wishing she was there to watch it with him. Golden rays on pink and red sky. He could almost see the warmth as the trees were bathed in light and turned the color of her eyes. It was beautiful. It was stunning. It was peaceful. It was constant. Yes, she was beautiful.

And somewhere, in his deepest heart, a horrible, gut-wrenching feeling was growing. He watched the sun slowly become a golden ball of light until he couldn't watch it anymore for the pain in his eyes.

He made himself breakfast, following her helpful instructions the whole way. Yet, somehow, the waffles lacked their usual robust flavor. He blamed the fact that the batter was a day old and stuffed the idea that it was because she had not cooked them to the back of his mind.

He made himself more of her tea and sat quietly on her couch, watching Konoha out the windows. She had a fine view of the whole street as well as the Hokage monument. He could forget the wriggling sense of foreboding in the pit of his stomach when he was surrounded by her presence. The room sang of her touch. Her house plants flourished. The furniture placement was neat and still retained excellent feng shui. The air smelled of her.

He set his tea cup on the only empty space on her crowded coffee table. Suddenly, he heard a crack.

He looked at the cute, little tea cup with green vines and sakura petals painted on it. A huge split ran down the length of it. And he knew.

The horrible feeling in his stomach. This apprehension and fear that had been building since she left.

Something was wrong with Sakura.

* * *

Author's note: It's done. Finally! Can I get a grammar check anyone? 


	5. Understanding the Self

**Rising:** Chapter 5

Understanding the Self

There was something soft under her. Almost like fur. But there was so much of it. Nothing could be so big as to have this much. She groaned and lifted her head. Kami, it was fur! On a ridiculously large tiger!

"_Welcome back to the world of the conscious, cub."_

"Oh, no. Not you again."

At the sound of that timber voice, all her memories from the morning came rushing back. She buried her head into the Gran Arise Krai's pelt, wishing it all away. She didn't want to deal with a _talking_ tiger. It was too weird. She had to get away.

"I don't suppose you're a dream? Or that you'll let me go?" she mumbled.

"_Not a chance," _chuckled the tiger. Sakura bounced on his back as he did. _"You are promised and I, Gran Krai, will teach you your ways, as provided by the Last. I doubt any fool sensei at that little village of yours can teach you how to be you."_

Sakura didn't think it would be beneficial to argue with a twelve-foot tiger, so she bit her lip and let him insult Tsunade. He was speaking in riddles anyway. Heh. He was _speaking._

"If you don't mind my asking, Sir…how are you talking?"

"_You will call me Arise, little cub. Or Gran Krai if you wish. Never 'Sir.' You hear my voice because I hypnotized you. Have you never heard of the awe-inspiring power of Sharingan?"_

"I've heard of it…um, Arise-kun?"

"_Arise-kun is fine."_

This was it. She'd finally gone insane. She was calmly talking with a giant tiger, who could talk back, about the legendary powers of the Sharingan, of which it apparently had a full set, like she was having afternoon tea with Tsunade. Yep. She was crazy. Lost her marbles. Nutzo!

Well, since she was here, she might as well indulge.

"So…let me get this straight. You hypnotized me into thinking I know the tiger language and now I hear your voice as if you were really talking?"

The tiger chuckled. _"It is more of a genjutsu than a hypnotic trance, but in effect, yes. Well done, my cub."_

Sakura blushed at the praise. She had a feeling Arise wasn't the type to give it freely. "A genjutsu? But I didn't even notice the change."

"_That is the power of the Sharingan. It has kept the Mangekyou Tigers hidden for centuries."_

"I've never heard of tigers with Sharingan. Only the Uchiha. And one former sensei."

"_Uchiha," _Arise growled. _"Damned cub-killers!"_

"What?"

Arise shifted his head to look at Sakura's confused face.

"_Nothing. Don't put any mind on it."_

"Um…okay."

"_In any matter, our doujutsu is far superior to any Uchiha,"_ he bragged. _"A Sharingan has the ability to cast imperceptible genjutsu. No one can tell they are under our spell. They are also unbreakable. Any release jutsu you could come up with would not be effective and pain would not dispel the genjutsu either. That is the might of the Mangekyou Sharingan."_

"You mean _the _Mangekyou Sharingan? Yeah, that makes sense. I've heard about it from my sensei, Tsunade-sama. It was supposed to cast horrific genjutsu that would incapacitate even an elite nin for days. Do you know a lot about it? I was wondering- does it also give power over time?"

Sakura was excited. _That_ man used the Mangekyou Sharingan. If she was ever going to help Sasuke reach his goal, as she had promised with Naruto that they would if they ever got him back, she was going to need all the information on his abilities that she could get.

"_Yes, it has some influence over time. But where have you heard of such a thing?" _he asked with surprise. _"Surely you have not faced a Mangekyou Sharingan from an Uchiha."_

"Well, it wasn't me who experienced it. It was my former sensei. Tsunade told me that he was tortured in a genjutsu for three days, but in reality only a couple of seconds had passed. I thought the Mangekyou might have some power over time to work like that."

She could tell that was not the answer he was looking for, but he decided to answer her question anyway.

"_The Mangekyou Sharingan does have some power over time, but the jutsu of which you speak primarily utilizes the natural processing speed of the brain. The human brain processes information at an alarming rate. The Sharingan regulates and adjusts this speed as the user sees fit. When the conscious is taken into the subconscious mind, which works at this amazing speed, the genjutsu seems to make years pass by in only minutes."_

'_I guess that's why it seems like a whole lifetime when I use my genjutsu. The last time I used it, I spent hours in it, but it seemed like close to forty years had passed.'_

"_What are you thinking, cub?"_

"What? Oh, nothing. Can you make the time however long you want it?"

This would pose an extreme problem if the time was limitless.

"_Well, no. Not exactly. It all depends on how much chakra the user is willing to expend on regulating the processing rate. A large amount of chakra is required to hold the processing speed of the brain where minutes seem like years. Also, when the user changes the victim's processing rate, he must change his own to match it if he wants the illusion to manifest. Natural, this puts an enormous strain on the user's brain, maintaining the illusion as well as the correct processing speed. The user must have great stamina as well as chakra if he wants to extend the interval for a long period of real time. If the user were to prolong the time, he is left open to attacks in the real world as his mind is also within the jutsu for the duration. It seems to me that your former sensei's opponent did not want or lacked the capacity to keep the jutsu going for a long time, especially if your former sensei were in a team that could take advantage of the vulnerability of this jutsu. For a human, maintaining that type of jutsu is dangerous and mentally and physically exhausting."_

"So, then…is the genjutsu you used on me draining your chakra?" she asked with concern. The tiger was just so friendly and forthcoming with information that she couldn't help but get attached in the short time she had known him.

"_No." _She could have sworn he was purring in reassurance. _"That jutsu was simple hypnotizing genjutsu and required only a little chakra expenditure at one point in time." _

She breathed out her relief. She didn't want Arise burning up his chakra just so she could understand him.

"_But, cub, an Uchiha had a Mangekyou Sharingan?"_

"Yes," she answered with confusion. "Who else would ever have a Mangekyou Sharingan? Why?"

"_Stay away from that Uchiha, cub. __**Always,**__" _he said harshly. The growl vibrated through her own chest, sitting on the tiger's back as she was.

"I-I'll try."

He left it at that. Sakura wanted to ask why she was supposed to stay away from him, but she didn't want to upset her new friend with big teeth any more than he already was.

"So, Arise-kun, where are we headed?"

* * *

Anko came back from her nice, long bath to find the camp still set out and pink hair nowhere in sight.

"What the hell? What's taking Sakura so long? Oh well," the older woman shrugged knowing Sakuracould take care of herself.

She got dressed and started picking up camp with a frown. She would scold that kunoichi when she got back from her little frolic through the woods.

Suddenly, her pack started ringing. Anko went over and pulled out her cell phone, something she was ordered to take with her on all her excursion into the Forest of Death. It really was so bothersome. She agitatedly answered it.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Oh, hello, Tsunade-sama," she said sheepishly. "And what would the most splendid hokage in Konoha want on this fine morning?"

"Yes, but that just makes you the best."

"Sakura? No, she's fine."

"Well, I _would _let you talk to her, but she's fetching some water right now. She should be back soon if you want to wait."

"Okay then, Tsunade-sama. Ja ne."

* * *

"What did she say?"

Tsunade sighed as she placed the phone back on its hook.

"She says that Sakura is just fine, Kakashi. Is that enough to quiet this 'bad feeling' you have?"

The Copy-nin frowned at his hokage.

"I'm not wrong in this, Tsunade-sama."

The buxom blonde glared at the office invader. The man was a lunatic. "Kakashi, a feeling isn't enough evidence to call off a training mission that I myself had assigned."

"Fine. My ninken need some training to keep their skills up. I'm requesting a training mission in the Forest of Death to hunt down Sakura and Anko."

Tsunade screamed her frustration and pulled at her hair.

"Fine, you stubborn baka! I'm assigning you to a training mission to track down a little kunoichi and her more than capable chaperone in a protected, enclosed area. Now get out of my sight before I decide to throw you there!"

"Arigatou, Tsunade-sama."

He was gone in a puff of smoke.

* * *

"Where is Sakura-chan?"

Anko bounced her leg furiously in agitation waiting for the damn girl to get the water. She had finished disassembling camp and had nothing better to do than wait. And wait. And wait some more…

"Argh! Forget this! Sakura-chan, you better have a good explanation for this crap or your ass is mine!"

Anko bounded off in the direction she knew Sakura to have taken. It was hard tracking the girl and Anko soon came upon the blood on the trail.

"Kuso!" she hissed. She bent down and dipped a finger in the sticky substance. It was turning black as it began to fully congeal. She brought the mess to her nose and sniffed. Then she took a lick and knew instantly what she was dealing with.

"Chikuso! Of all the creatures in this forest, she has to find this one! Shimatta!"

Anko raced down the path, ignoring the increasing amount of blood, until she stumbled on the burbling stream and the gory shore. She looked for signs that Sakura was alright. All the blood matched with the blood from before and she could not see any signs of struggle. Maybe Sakura hadn't found the tiger and she had just gotten lost…

"Ah, hell!" Anko cursed when she spied two canteens sitting by the stream, presumably dropped by her cute little charge when she was carted off to places unknown.

Anko knew the tiger wouldn't hurt her. Konoha had treaties in place to insure that. But which type of tiger had taken her? Mangekyou or Byakugan? Anko really hoped it was a Byakugan. You can't track a Mangekyou tiger.

"Man, Tsunade-baa's gonna kill me! And she just called, too," she whined, throwing her head in her hands.

Suddenly she looked up with an epiphany.

"Wait! Tsunade doesn't have to know. If I can find her before the scheduled mission end, it'll all be alright. No harm, no foul," Anko nodded to herself. "I just _really_ hope it wasn't a Mangekyou. Pink-haired women are really just so troublesome."

Anko raced off to find the kunoichi who seemed to be nothing but trouble in situations like these.

* * *

"_We are going to my home, where you will meet my pride. We are forty strong. Impressive, ne?"_

She could tell Arise was gloating. "I thought that tigers hunted alone. And can so many fit in the Forest of Death and still have enough food? If they're all your size, surely you would run out of room and food soon."

"_Correct,"_ laughed the tiger. _"That is why my pride is so impressive. They are not all my size- we have ten cubs- but food would get sparse if we stayed in the Forest of Death. We have found a way out of the confines. We only hunt in the Forest of Death because the elk taste better here. We usually stay in the forest surrounding this one."_

"But how do you get out? The entire perimeter is enclosed in chakra sapping chain link. It's hard for even birds to get out."

Arise just chuckled again. _"We have our ways."_

Sakura could see the chain link fence through the trees now. Had they really come so far in such a short time? Sakura was curious as to what Arise would do to get past the fence, but when he didn't stop to take action, she got a little worried. He was almost to the fence. If he didn't stop soon, he would run into it. He didn't slow down.

"Um, Arise-kun…"

He _was _going to just walk into the fence. Can you say crispy critters? Sakura didn't want to be burned to a crisp by the chakra infused barrier.

"Arise-kun!"

The tiger chuckled as she fisted her hands in his fur and watched with terrified eyes as he got closer and closer to the boundary.

Suddenly, a thirteen-foot expanse of the twenty-foot wall shimmered and then disappeared. Sakura could only stare dumbfounded as Arise calmly walked through the opening.

"Wha-what just happened?"

Arise once again chuckled in his deep timber voice that had her bouncing on his back. _"That hole has been there since the barrier's creation. I simply released the genjutsu that keeps it hidden. The Mangekyou tigers must have some way to get at the tasty prey inside the Forest of Death."_

"You mean no one has noticed it when it's been there for that long?" she asked incredulously.

"_That is the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan."_

Sakura turned back to the hole in the fence. As soon as Arise's tail was through, the air shimmered and once again, the fence was whole. Sakura was thoroughly impressed.

Sakura turned back to face the front. She would rather watch where she was going than dwell on where she had been. Her mind started to wander.

She was currently traveling with a talking, twelve-foot tiger. She had left the Forest of Death behind as well as Anko.

Anko! Oh, no. Anko would be wondering where she was. She didn't think the tiger would let her go, so she had no way of informing Anko that she was currently being carried off to strange places. But Anko was a good tracker. Surely she could follow the trail this hulking tiger had left behind. Maybe.

"Um…Arise-kun?"

The tiger grunted to show he was paying attention.

"I have friends who will come after me. You won't hurt them, will you?"

The tiger chuckled. _"They won't be able to find you, cub."_

"What? Why not? Some of my friends are very good trackers."

"_A Mangekyou always leaves a genjutsu in his wake that erases all traces of his passing. It's not a matter of tracking skill when there is nothing to track."_

"But you left a huge trail leading to the stream!"

"_I was weak then, cub. I didn't have the energy to cover my tracks. Thanks to you, I have enough energy to do much more than simple covering genjutsu. The only way your friends will find you is if you run away from me. The question is will you try?"_

Sakura bit her lip. She really should get back to Anko. But her natural curiosity was in full swing. She really wanted to know what Arise meant by this whole "promised cub" nonsense. And it was a learning experience. Not everyone got to meet a Mangekyou tiger, apparently. She was planning to just take the rest of the training mission and spend some time getting to know these elusive creatures. She could make it up to Anko later, right? It would be okay as long as she was back before the two days were up.Sakura decided to stay with Arise for a little while longer.

"I won't try as long as you don't try to eat me," she said finally.

Arise laughed. _"Deal,"_ he agreed happily. _"Now hold on tight."_

"What? Why?"

She got her answer when Arise suddenly broke into a reckless run. She let out a squeak as se almost fell off, but found her grip and held on as the tiger twisted this way and that to avoid the thick tree trunks. _'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea,'_ she thought as she whipped in the wind. Arise's speed was amazing. She would have windburn, but she couldn't help the rush of exhilaration from going at so fast a speed.

"_It's high time you met my pride!" _Arise roared happily.

* * *

"Kuso," Anko swore. "Kuso. Kuso. Kuso!"

It was a Mangekyou tiger. Anko could find neither hide nor hair of either Sakura or the damn tiger past the clearing. Tsunade-baa was going to kill her.

She had already run to the fence and back trying to catch up to the tiger. Her only lead was that the tiger had been heading in that general direction before she lost his tracks. Now she was running blindly, hoping to stumble across the tiger or hopefully the girl.

Suddenly, there was a howl from her right. Anko turned to watch a small pug leap from a tree to fall into step beside her.

"Anko-san! Kakashi would like a word."

Hell! She did not want to deal with him right now. He would be furious in that silent "I shall forever loathe you" way. Not good. Really not good.

"As lovely as that sounds, Pakkun, I'm a little busy at the moment. You'll have to tell him to reschedule."

"That won't be necessary," said a seemingly aloof voice behind her.

Anko turned to face the smiling eye of the one and only Kakashi no Sharingan.

"K-kakashi. So nice meeting you here," said Anko, wearing the most innocent smile she could muster in this situation. She was pretty sure it just came out looking nervous to the perceptive man.

"I'm sure it is. But where is Sakura? Shouldn't she be with you?"

Anko stopped in her tracks. "Heh, heh. Well, you see, there's a funny story about that."

"Oh?" Kakashi prompted, also coming to a stop. Pakkun backtracked to land between the two, sniffing the ground and air anxiously.

"Well, I seem to have temporarily misplaced her," Anko laughed nervously.

"Temporarily misplaced her?"

Kakashi was still smiling that half-insane smile at her. It was getting on her nerves.

"Yes, that's what I said. Wasn't it?"

Kakashi looked down at the pug.

"Last time Anko saw her was early this morning. I can't find anymore of her scent besides what we found by that clearing and what's on Anko."

Kakashi looked at the sky. The sun was slowly setting. He turned back to Anko. He was no longer smiling.

"What happened, Anko?"

"You saw the blood. She went to get water and came across a wounded Mangekyou tiger. Knowing Sakura-chan, she probably tried to heal it. It wouldn't have eaten her. We have treaties with the Mangekyou. As long as we don't hurt them, they don't hurt us. I don't know why it would have taken her though. It might be a pride renegade, which would explain the blood. That means she might become a snack if we don't find her soon."

"Mangekyou tigers?"

"Yes. Have you heard of them?"

"Only a little. Explain it to me."

"They're one of the two types of ancient tigers in the Fire Country. They use this area as a hunting ground. When Shodaime sealed off the forest, he had to make a number of pacts with both the Mangekyou and the Byakugan, the other type of tigers. That includes the No Harm Clause. Since the signing of the treaties, a Mangekyou has only been sighted two times, not including the meeting to work out something during the Chunin Exam. The Mangekyou use some type of ability to completely cover their tracks. It's as if they were never there. It's impossible to find one when it doesn't want to be found."

"And where were you when she was getting kidnapped by such a scarce creature?" Kakashi asked coldly in a calm voice that somehow radiated quiet fury.

"Look, I already fee l guilty enough! I don't need your help in that department, okay!"

"Fine. Let's just concentrate on finding her," he said, pulling out a kunai. He cut his thumb and performed the summoning jutsu. The rest of his ninken appeared. "Fan out in a radius of half a kilometer. Report anything unusual."

"This is about finding Sakura-chan, so don't get lazy!" Pakkun added. All the ninken instantly looked serious at the mention of their favorite kunoichi in trouble.

"Ikkou," Kakashi dismissed them. All the ninken disappeared in a flash. He soon followed, leaving Anko behind.

"That's if we _can_ find her," Anko said sullenly, extremely worried about her pink-haired friend.

* * *

Even with Arise's amazing speed, minus the small detour for a quick hunt and a bathroom break, they reached the pride's den a little after midday.

The first thing that hit Sakura was the amount of grey and black she saw. Forty tigers, thirty of which were roughly the size of Arise, made the forest floor seem covered in ash. The second thing that hit Sakura was the cuteness of the dark grey fuzz balls wandering around. Sakura immediately jumped off Arise and ran for the nearest cub. It was about the size of a fairly large dog and just about the cutest thing she had ever seen. It had a cute little pink nose and deep pink eyes that she could tell would soon turn red. She gave it a big hug.

The third thing Sakura noticed was that she could understand all of the tigers.

"_Hey, lady!"_ squeaked the little cub. _"Hands off!"_

Sakura immediately let go of the little tiger. Arise padded over with a deep-throated chuckle.

"_Now, now, Sennei, is that any way to treat a guest, especially when she's taken such a liking to you?"_

"_No, Gran Krai,"_ the little cub said, shamefaced. "_But she was all over me! Just who is she, Gran Krai? I've never seen anything like her_."

The little cub sniffed at her and circled around her. Sakura followed its lanky movements with her eyes and tried very hard not to hug the cute little thing again.

Arise chuckled again and pushed the cub into Sakura's lap. It didn't seem to appreciate this, but Sakura was eating it up.

"_She is a human, Sennei."_

"_She doesn't smell like a human,"_ Sennei said doubtfully.

Arise's eyes narrowed for an instant, as if he wished the cub hadn't said anything. He quickly covered it with a toothy grin, leaving Sakura to wonder if she had really seen him hesitate.

"_That's because she is my cub. You should introduce yourself."_

The cub was apparently impressed that she was Arise's cub, because it was giving her a look she thought might be admiration. It jumped onto her shoulders and she fell backward onto the ground with the cub on top of her.

"Hi, I'm Sennei, great-grandson of Grannei. Nice to meet ya!"

Sakura just looked up at the cub with astonishment. The cub looked unsure when she didn't say anything. He turned to Arise for help.

"What's wrong with her, Gran Krai? I didn't break her did I? Humans are supposed to be fragile aren't they? Do humans even have names?"

Arise just laughed. "No you didn't break her. Introduce yourself, cub."

"Oh, right," said Sakura, finally snapping out of it. "My name's Sakura. Haruno Sakura. It's nice meeting you too."

The cub purred at her and started rubbing his face against hers. Sakura giggled and started scratching behind his ears. He purred even louder.

"I like her, Gran Krai. Can we play together?"

"Maybe tomorrow, little one. For now, she stays with me to meet the rest of the pride."

"Oh, oh, can I help?" he asked as he sat down on Sakura. She was a little put off by the weight, but it was worth it to pet the cute little creature.

"It'll be very boring, stuffy introductions," he warned.

"That's why I have to help! I have to make sure Sakura-chan doesn't get too bored."

"Alright, Sennei," laughed Arise. "Just try not to smother her please."

"Yosh!"

Sennnei got off of her helped her stand by pulling on her shirt with his teeth. They were very sharp, Sakura noticed.

"Come on, Ra-chan! I'll introduce you to all my friends. Is that okay, Gran Krai?"

"Yes, just don't take too long. Be back by the time I rally everyone."

"Yosh!" he said, taking a mouthful of her shirt and tugging to where the other cubs were playing tag.

"Hey, minna! Come see Arise's new cub!"

"Sennei!" they all laughed and came to see what he was talking about.

"What animal is that?"

"Can we eat her?"

"I like her hair!"

They crowded around her and their responses were starting to make her worry. She noticed that some of the cubs were old enough to have a few adult teeth and their eyes were the usual blood red of the sharingan. They too were cute, but they were jabbering so much that she was having trouble thinking straight.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't smother her, guys!" Sennei reprimanded, pushing himself between the cubs and her, giving her some room to breathe.

"Wow, what is she, Sennei?" the smallest one squeaked.

"This is Haruno Sakura, Gran Krai's cub. Y'all should introduce yourselves!"

"Hi, I'm Eri!"

"I'm Seri!"

They must have been twins.

"Gann."

Definitely not much of a talker.

"Darugi. And this here is Deigo."

"It's a pleasure."

That one had such nice manners.

"Arani, great-grandson of Grannei. It is an honor to finally meet you, Gran Krai's cub."

Finally?

"Enurisu, great-granddaughter of Grannei. I hope we can be friends."

"Hmph. Showoffs. Name's Karu."

"And me! Me! Don't forget me!"

The littlest one was bouncing at her feet. Sakura laughed at his adorableness.

"And what would your name be?"

"I'm Tagurano. I'm the fastest, smartest, and cunn…cunnen…cunningingest tiger on four legs, so you better remember it," he told her very seriously. Sakura couldn't help but smile.

"I'll be sure to remember…Tegaruno, was it?" she asked with a coy smile.

"No! Tagurano!" He jumped up and down to emphasize his point and stamped his forepaws cutely.

"Right. Tagurano."

Tagurano grinned and got closer to her, waving his tail madly. Suddenly, he swiped a paw out and hit her leg, then ran off wildly.

"Tag! You're it!"

"What? Hey!"

The others cubs laughed and ran away. Sakura stood there for a moment, but then decided that she had nothing better to do. She gave chase.

The cubs were surprisingly fast and Sakura was having trouble keeping her breath in a simple game of tag. She managed to tag some of them, but somehow they always managed to get her back. She was still "it" when Arise came looking for her.

"I see you're fitting in well, my cub. I'm sorry little ones, but I have to steal her away from you."

"Aw, Gran Krai," they moaned.

"Can't she stay and play a little longer?" Tagurano pleaded.

"Yeah, just a few minutes more?" Eri begged.

"Please," Seri added.

"I'll bring her back if there's time before rest. Don't worry; you'll see her again. Now, come with me, cub."

Arise walked off without waiting for her response. Sakura didn't want to go, but she didn't want to disobey Arise.

"Bye, minna. See you later."

"Yeah, don't wait up for us," Sennei said.

"You're going too, Sennei?" one of the other cubs asked.

"Yep. Somebody's got to make sure Ra-chan doesn't get too bored with all the adults."

All of the other cubs agreed. The game of tag resumed when the impatient Tagurano once again declared the one to be "it."

Sennei and Sakura started to follow after Arise, but Sakura wasn't sure Sennei should come when she looked back at all his friends playing behind them.

"Sennei, you don't have to keep me company. You should play, too."

"No, I want to go with you. It's part of my job, after all."

"Your job?"

"Aa. It's my job to help the cub as much as I can as the next Gran Krai."

Before she could ask him what exactly he meant, they approached a ring of ash-grey tigers. Some where standing, other sitting, and a few were lying about, but they all looked formidable.

"Minna, I thank you all for coming on such short notice. May I have the honor of introducing Haruno Sakura, my cub."

All the tigers murmured in appreciation.

"Such coloring," she heard whispered. "Potential," said another. "I fine specimen. Well-proportioned," from the third closest tiger to her. Sakura suddenly felt like she was being sized up like a particularly juicy piece of meat. Not the most wonderful feeling when thirty or more twelve-foot, possibly man-eating tigers surrounded her.

She placed a hand on Sennei's back and he purred, trying to comfort her. Sakura smiled at his good nature. Arise noticed his cub's hesitation.

"Please, everyone introduce yourselves. And stop looking at her as if you want to eat her. She's still unsure of her importance and our teeth."

There was a general good laugh around the ring as one by one the tigers came to meet her.

"I am Sensu, grand-daughter of Grannei. I am honored to finally meet the cub. If you ever need anything, please come to me."

"Hi, momma!" Sennei called happily.

"Hello, my son. Are you behaving yourself, young tiger?"

"Hai!"

The great tiger with the beautiful dusk coat turned her enrapturing red eyes to Sakura for confirmation. It was a moment before Sakura remembered to respond.

"Oh, he's been wonderful. He's been such a help to me."

"I'm pleased. You have more to meet, so I will not dilly-dally. It was wonderful meeting you Sakura-chan."

"Aw, momma, just call her Ra-chan."

"It was nice meeting you, too, Sensu-sama."

"Please, Sensu-kaa-chan."

"Sensu-kaa-chan," Sakura smiled. She seemed like a mother worth having Sakura thought longingly.

"Alright, daughter, out the way. Let these old eyes see the glory, too. We've waited so long."

The tiger behind Sensu wrestled his way in front of her to get a look at Sakura.

"Careful, oyaji. Wouldn't want you fainting at the sight of her," Sensu joked.

"Oh, she's more beautiful than I imagined," said the tiger that was so old his teeth were falling out. "How I've longed to see this day, you'll never know, my cub."

"She's not your cub, Gramps! She's Arise's," Sennei corrected.

"Sennei! Your grandfather has as much claim to call her that as Arise. Maybe even more so. Apologize."

"But, momma!"

"Now, or I'll send you right to rest!"

"Hai, kaa-chan. Wari, ojii-san," Sennei apologized, his ears gone flat from the reprimand.

The old tiger just laughed. "Quite alright little one. Such fire. He'll make a good Gran Krai, one day. Always speak your mind if you know you're right, little one, or else we may all stay wrong."

Sennei smiled and his ears perked up at the wise words. "Yosh!"

"I am Sarisen, son of Grannei," he said as he turned back to Sakura. "I am blessed to meet you."

"I'm…blessed to meet you as well," Sakura returned. Sarisen laughed at her awkwardness and purred at her lovingly. He came and flopped down next to her.

"Sensu, get out of everyone's way. There are others who want to meet her."

"Hai, hai. Senile old coot," the tiger said as she made way for others.

And so the introductions went. Over thirty tigers came to see her and Sakura felt bad for not remembering most of their names. Most had regular personalities, but there were a few extremes. There was the incredibly loud and jubiliant male by the name of Gisu who loved to tell jokes. There was an old female with teeth so brittle and yellow, Sakura wondered if she was able to eat without chipping a tooth. She was a card, that one. Sakura could tell she was fierce by the way she smirked at everything and her sarcastic sense of humour had Sakura smiling ear to ear. Her name had been Kiru.

There were also some annoying ones. They were twins, Tiku and Taku, and all the two did was argue constantly. She could tell that it was bicker, bicker, bicker with those two females. The entire time they argued over where Sakura should sleep. Sarisen had finally got annoyed enough to send the two on their way with a quick growl and snap of teeth. The two had wandered off somewhere arguing over whose fault it was that they were snapped at. Sakura found them quite amusing, but a bit draining. The other annoying one was a male known as Gurisu. He flattered her to no end and tried making awful jokes about tasty meat. Sakura could tell he was sucking up. She asked herself more than once that night why everyone was trying to get on her good side, or at least took the time out of their daily lives to meet her. What made her so special? She had never been particularly special in her entire life.

Finally, the introductions were over and she was tired as hell. Her chakra was still low and all she wanted to do was fall asleep. The sun was just setting as Arise took her up in her jaws and set her on his back. She was too tired to protest.

Sennei ran about Arise's legs, looking excitedly up at her. How could the little cub have so much energy?

"Is she sleeping with us, Arise? Is she? Is she?" the little one asked.

"Aa," laughed Arise. "Go tell your mother we're on our way."

"Yosh!"

Sakura watched through bleary eyes as the little grey fuzz ball ran off. She tried to get up, intent on walking herself to wherever they were headed. Arise stopped her.

"Lay down, cub," he said softly in his deep timbre. She could almost swear he purred his words. "Let me carry you for now. If you try to rise before you're ready, you'll only fall. Accept help when it is given in kindness and caring."

Sakura didn't know what to think of that. It seemed she had been doing a lot of falling lately. She had been trying so hard to stand up on her own. Maybe Arise was right. Maybe, just this once, she would let someone carry her until she could stand. She had a feeling Arise would help her stand.

He was already walking there anyway. Why not take the free ride? Just for a little while. Because she was so tired. She closed her eyes before they reached their destination. She didn't drift off to sleep just yet, but the darkness behind her lids was comforting.

"Sister," Arise greeted someone, presumably another tiger.

"Is she asleep?" That was Sensu's voice.

"Not yet." Arise answered. "But she's making her path."

"Such a beautiful sight." And that was Sarisen. Where were they?

"Momma, I'm not tired," yawned Sennei.

"Hush and go to sleep, little one," she heard Sensu tell the cub.

She felt Arise lower himself to the ground.

"Time for rest," his soothing voice reverberated. "Peace in the night and dream on dragons' wings."

"Peace in the night and dream on dragons' wings," Sensu and Sarisen replied.

"Peace 'n night 'n dream…drago…" Sennei was asleep.

"Peace in the night and dream on dragons' wings," Sakura whispered. Their version of goodnight was very poetic and Sakura's mind was instantly content. She was asleep faster than Sennei.

"Yes, my dragon cub," Arise whispered fondly. "Dream on dragons' wings."

* * *

The wind was cool on her neck and the fur warm on her face. The birds sang their greeting to the morning and leaves hushed them. It was so tranquil.

"Ra-chan!"

"Yeowch!"

A ball of gray fuzz pounced on her stomach and extended claws into sensitive flesh to be sure it stayed there.

"Ra-chan! Ra-chan! Ra-chan!" Sennei screamed happily.

"Claws! Claws!" Sakura said, slapping the big paws on her stomach.

"Oh, sorry," he said guiltily. "I forgot you don't have fur."

"No…problem…"

She quickly pushed the tiger cub off her and surveyed the damage. Amazingly, they were just bruises. She looked at the cub who was sitting beside her and happily flicking his tail back and forth.

"What? You didn't think I'd hurt the cub did you? Gran Krai would strip my stripes if I did."

She frowned at his idiom. She guessed he meant he would be in big trouble. She glared at him as he smiled cheekily at her, his tail swishing back and forth with glee. He reached out a paw a lightly padded her thigh.

"Did the dragons send sweet dreams, Ra-chan?" he asked excitedly. How could he have so mush energy so early in the morning?

"What?"

"He's asking if you slept well?" Arise rumbled beneath her.

She looked at the gray striped coat underneath her and realized she was sitting on the great tiger's back. And little Sennei was jumping up and down on his shoulder blade. Didn't that hurt?

"Um, I slept well, I guess. What's with the dragon motif? You're tigers."

Arise looked over his shoulder at her curiously, but it was Sennei who answered.

"Why is it weird to talk about the dragons? They're our saviors," he said with a cute little pout of his jowels that could only be a frown.

"How is that? There aren't any dragons." She was confused.

"There are too!" Sennei defended immediately. "They just all left for the spirit realm. That's where all the different summoning animals come from. The Mangekyou tigers were supposed to go with them when all the other animals made the journey a long, long, _long_ time ago. I wasn't there, but our honored ancestors were. Anyway, the Mangekyou tigers were the ones helping everyone else through. Our eyes could spot and stragglers from miles away. But before we could get through, time ran out and the gate closed. We were stuck on this side."

He looked very sad at that, as if he had missed out on something really great.

"And then what happened?" she asked as she petted him reassuringly behind the ears. She really wanted to know. Dragons had always been an interest to her. By the way the tigers talked, she knew they were talking about real scales-and-teeth dragons, but she couldn't help but wonder if they had some connection to the shinobi clan called dragons she had read and heard so much about.

"Well, when all the animals arrived in the spirit realm, the dragons were already there. They got curious about the other world the animals had just come from and their leader decided to take a vacation from ruling the spirit realm and took a look around here. When he came, he did a lot of things, but the Mangekyou tigers never met him and no one knew we were stuck here. But he did save a human baby from dying and accidentally gave him a lot of the powers of a dragon before he went back to the spirit realm. The human baby grew up to be a man and founded a shinobi clan. Mama told me they were really powerful and sought after shinobi, but I don't think you have to be really powerful to be a powerful human," he said with a wink.

"Hey! I'm human!" she defended.

"Really?" he asked, astounded. Gran Krai rumbled beneath them. "Oh, yeah! I forgot. Sorry, Ra-chan."

He grinned apologetically and he was so cute she had to forgive him.

"Fine. Just get on with the story," she said with a pout.

"Right! So anyway, this clan was powerful, but they eventually started dying out. It was the last shinobi dragon that actually found the Mangekyou tigers. We all remembered that we were supposed to be in spirit realm, but no one knew how to get there. We had never given up hope, but Mama said it wasn't easy for us back then. When the last dragon found us, we were all scattered and starving. The last dragon helped us get back to greatness. Grannei, my great-grandfather, founded our pride with the help of the last dragon. When Grannei-sama told him we were supposed to be in the spirit realm, he said he would help us. He said he knew how to get to the spirit realm and any dragon could get there if he knew where to look. But the last dragon was old and frail. He died before he could take us to the spirit realm," the little cub said sadly.

"But the last dragon could see the future. He gave us a prophecy before he died and made us a deal. There would be a new dragon from the Haruno clan, who were the people from the dragon shinobi clan that didn't have the powers of the dragons and became merchants. In five hundred years, a new dragon would be born when the cherry blossoms bloom. If the Mangekyou tigers protected the dragon cub and taught it how to be a dragon for the last dragon's sake, the dragon cub would carry us all to the spirit realm on its red wings. And that's you!" he said excitedly with a smile and an affectionate bat of his paws. "So, you aren't really human, Ra-chan!"

He rubbed his head against her lovingly. "You'll take us to the spirit realm and we'll live happily ever after!"

She didn't pay any attention to the little cub rubbing against her. It wasn't possible. It was a mistake! They had the wrong Haruno. She was nothing special. She was just plain old Sakura, who couldn't protect the ones she loved to save her life. She couldn't be a member of that great clan she loved to read about. She was just a second-generation shinobi from a merchant family. There was no way. No. It wasn't possible. No way!

She had to tell the tigers there had been a mistake. They shouldn't be putting their hope and faith in her. She would just disappoint them.

She looked up into Arise's calm, patient eyes, eyes so similar to the eyes of one of the ones she had failed in the past. She couldn't…she couldn't save anybody! In the face of those calm eyes, she finally broke down. Had she been standing, her legs would have given out. Her eyes stung and she could feel warm saltwater streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry. You're wrong. You've got the wrong girl. I'd love to help you, but I'm just plain old Haruno Sakura. I'm not a d-dragon. I'm ordinary and lackluster and nothing special. I…I…I can't save anybody. In fact, eveyone's always saving me. I can't help you."

Arise's expression didn't change. He still surveyed her with that calm, calculating look. Then he let out a large sigh that had her rocking.

"I can see we have a lot of work to do, dragon cub," he said wearily.

She stared at him in confusion and a little fear.

"What? But I already told you, I'm not…"

"Cub," he growled in his deep baritone that left no room for argument. "I don't know who or how you have failed in the past, but that has no bearing on this. You are the cub and if I can train you right, you will take us to the spirit realm. I have no doubts. You should not either."

She shook her head in denial. "No! It's impossible! There's no way I could be…"

"Do not argue with me, Sakura," he rumbled. "You are already more dragon than human. I can smell it on you. Soon, there will be no trace of human in your scent."

"What?" she asked with wide eyes.

"It's true, Ra-chan," Sennei said hesitantly, shaken from Sakura's reaction to what he said and Arise's response. "That's why it's so easy to forget you're human. You don't smell like one. You smell different. Like nothing I've ever smelled before. It makes me want to jump up and sit down all at the same time."

She looked down at the little cub that was lying down and almost cowering from her. At his guilty look, she rubbed the tears from her face and held out her arms for him. He slunk over slowly and lay down in her lap. She buried her face in the fur at his neck, hugging him to hide her shaking.

She didn't smell human? That wasn't possible. If she didn't smell like a human, what did she smell like? She still refused to believe she was a dragon. Could it be that they smelled the chakra that had bled into her blood? That had to be it. She could feel her chakra was almost completely replenished, meaning there was more chakra than ever in her bloodstream. Yes, they smelled the chakra. Now maybe they would believe she wasn't their dragon messiah or whatever they thought she was.

She turned hopeful eyes up to Arise and was about to explain, but his deep voice stopped her.

"There is nothing you can say that would convince me otherwise, he said as he slowly rose to his feet, causing her to grab on to keep from falling off his back. "I can tell that you still do not believe me, but I am willing to accept that. I will make you a deal. If you agree to my training for a week, I will let you return to your human village and search for the truth behind my words. Is that pleasing?"

She nodded and muttered a small agreement. He purred in pleasure and started to walk into the forest.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked, still hugging Sennei, who didn't seem to mind.

"We are going to train."

* * *

"What the hell did you do with my apprentice, Anko?!" Tsunade screamed at the snake wielder.

"Um, in all fairness, Tsunade-sama, I didn't do anything with her. A Mangekyou tiger did."

"I don't fucking care! You were supposed to protect her! What was I thinking sending her with you? She could be dead right now!"

Tsunade flinched at her own comment. Anko was wincing and looking thoroughly remorseful.

"It's a Mangekyou tiger, Tsunade-sama. It won't hurt her. We've found a Byakugan tiger in another part of the forest. Most likely, the Mangekyou is a pride member and had gotten into a fight. He'll probably return her as soon as the Gran Krai realizes what happened."

"That's not the point! She's in no condition for this sort of thing! Her cells are already changing. I don't know what will happen if she tries to pull out large amounts of chakra. She was supposed to stay within the village for monitoring! Shimatta!"

Tsunade slammed the nearest tree with a chakra-enhanced fist. There was a thunderous crack and a few shinobi yelled and scrambled to get out of the huge tree's path as it hit the ground with a loud bang. Anko flinched, but did not shake as most people would. She merely faced her hokage with a calm demeanor.

"Which Krai is in power now?" the godaime asked her.

"I believe it is Arise Krai, Tsunade-sama," Anko said.

"That's the grandson. Use the signal. I want to talk to him."

"It usually takes a few days for a response, Tsunade-sama."

"I know that, Mitarashi. Just do it. Go. Now."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama."

Anko bowed and left the hokage quickly. Tsunade took a few calming breaths and turned as Kurenai appeared out of a nearby tree.

"Report," she ordered the genjutsu master.

"Shino has found no trace. Kiba can't find anything either. Hinata can see nothing but a few traces of chakra. Although, some of the chakra was a strange red color."

Tsunade cursed and kicked the stump of the tree she had just leveled.

"What does it mean, Tsunade-sama?"

"Nothing good."

"Will Sakura-chan be alright?"

Tsunade sighed and tried to reassure the worried kunoichi.

"She'll be fine if we can find her soon."

"Understood. Can you tell Kakashi to calm down? He's calm on the outside and his orders are polite, but his actions are agitated and he keeps interfering with my team."

"I'll talk to him," she promised and dismissed the red-eyed female.

She took a deep breath and then screamed for all the forest to hear.

"Kakashi!"

There was a howl from far to the right and after a few minutes, there was a poof of smoke not far from her. Kakashi stepped out calmly, droopy eyes intense.

"You called, Tsunade-sama?"

"Quit messing with Kurenai's team, kozou."

Kakashi nodded and slouched where he stood, hands in his pockets. It was meant to be a disarming gesture, but the sheer amount of repressed nervous energy radiating from him had him on her toes. He wanted to get back to searching for Sakura.

"Is that all, Tsunade-sama?"

"Yes," she said, keeping her temper in check. She knew he wouldn't heed a word she said. If Kurenai's team got in his way, that was their problem.

With another puff of smoke, he was gone. There was howl far off and for a moment, Tsunade thought they might have found something, but when the howl was repeated from many directions, she knew it was a signal to begin searching again.

She sighed and felt useless just standing here. She kicked the stump again.

"Tsunade-hime, it would be better if you rested back at the office. When we find her she may need healing."

Tsunade turned her piercing bronze eyes on her right hand shinobi. She smiled wearily.

"You sound so sure that we will find her, Shizune."

"Even if we are dealing with untraceable Mangekyou tigers, Sakura will return to us," she said confidently.

"You're right," Tsunade said, letting out a sarcastic laugh. "Let's go back to my office, Shizune."

"Hai, Tsunade-hime."

* * *

"Now put that metal plate and cloth over your eyes."

Sakura looked at him skeptically, but removed her hitai-ate and tied it over her eyes. She was standing in the middle of a small clearing underneath the huge branches of the enormous trees. Arise and Sennei were standing off near one of the trees.

"Now what?"

"Now we attack you."

"What?!"

She listened to the deep rumbling laugh of Arise's and memorized his position. He had already moved away from the tree and she hadn't heard him at all. These were professional hunters. How the hell was she supposed to defend herself when she was virtually blind?

"We will stalk you and you will try to stalk us. A simple touch counts as an attack. Are the rules clear?"

"No! How am I supposed to stalk you if I can't even see."

"You are still not sure if you are a dragon. This training will tell you if you are or not. You know that every organism has a chakra system."

"Yes," she said hesitantly.

"A dragon can see these chakra systems."

"Yeah, right," she scoffed.

"It's true," he said, now from a different position than before. She turned quickly to face him, almost losing her balance.

"How?"

"Your ears are highly attuned to the minute pulses of chakra. It should come as a sixth sense to you. But first, we have to block all of your other senses, which is why you are now effectively blind and unable to feel your way around. I will not block your sense of smell, but human noses are generally poor in that area. I assume you are currently no different."

"Currently?" she asked, fearing that Arise would definitely help her change herself.

"That is what training is for, is it not? We will sharpen all your senses once you develop this new one."

"Well, I'm not a dragon, so it might take awhile," she said with a sarcastic bite, once again spinning to face the direction of his voice.

"I might as well tell you now that I am using a genjutsu to confuse your hearing. You will never know where I am by following my voice."

She growled in frustration.

"Then how do I know you won't just confuse this new sense _if _I can develop it?"

"Truthfully, I am not sure how that sense works. Short of knocking you unconscious, I have no way to know a sure way to stop it."

"Wait. You're trying to teach me to use an ability and you're not even sure how it works?!"

His voice was coming from behind her, but it was useless to turn toward it if he wasn't even there. How the hell was she going to find him? She knew she didn't have this sixth sense for chakra he was talking about. She could sense a human's, but she was liable to run into a tree before she found the tiger. Not to mention the disorientation in just walking.

"I'm sorry, my cub, but the last dragon did not exactly leave explicit instructions."

At least he had the nerve to sound rueful about it.

"I'm starting to think this whole deal is a little half-assed. What would you do if I hadn't stumbled across you in the Forest of Death? Hunt me down by smell?"

He rumbled with laughter again. "It was fate that we meet, cub."

"Great," she said sarcastically. "More fate crap. I think you and Neji would get along swimmingly."

"Neji?"

"A friend who's really big on fate."

Suddenly, she was pushed to the ground.

"Gotcha, Ra-chan!" Sennei giggled happily.

"What happened to light touches?" she asked angrily, very dizzy and not sure which way was up and which was down. Being blind sort of did that to a girl. She was also in the middle of a clearing, so she had no indicators to tell her which direction gave her sky.

"She's right, Sennei. Try not to push her down next time."

"Yosh!"

She huffed and placed her hands on the ground, trying to get her bearings. She tucked her feet beneath her and tried to stand up. Once her hands left the ground, she lost her sense of balance and wobbled precariously on her toes. She managed to straighten out though and was soon standing firmly on the ground.

"How long are we going to do this?" she grumbled.

"Until we get it right."

"This is impossible!" she screamed.

Hours had passed and she had already been knocked to the ground twice, scratched, bitten, and jumped on. Still she was no closer to discovering this peculiar second sense he was talking about.

"Let's just face it, Arise! I'm not a dragon!"

"Just try," he growled in his own frustration. "Concentrate on using the sense to see me. Or you can choose Sennei. I'm sure you have quite the want to pay him back."

"Hey!" Sennei whined.

Sakura groaned and did what he said. She really wanted to punch one of them. Okay, this was a sense involving her ears, right? She tried to focus on her sense of hearing, hoping it would lead to this strange sixth sense if only to get back at the two of them. All she could hear was the whispering of the wind through the trees high above her head.

It was calming, exactly what she needed to figure this thing out. She turned her face up to the sound and tried to focus. The sound above was very clear and soothing to her. The hush and shush sound of the leaves and a light clacking of the branches. She could almost see the limbs swaying to and fro, every now and then brushing against each other. In her mind's eye, she saw the limbs sway and the leaves rustle. It wasn't hard to imagine and the more she imagined, the clearer the picture became. Soon, it was so detailed, she thought she might actually be looking at it, except that everything was in shades of blue. Blue like chakra.

And then she realized she was seeing. Her mind was coming up with an image of the trees above her. But that wasn't possible. There was no way. Her eyes closed and her hitai-ate bound them tight. She couldn't be seeing the leaves above her.

She turned her face away, trying to dispel the image, only to discover that there was a huge tiger standing in front of her. He was brighter than trees, much brighter, but she could see him just the same. She started to shake. It was simply too impossible.

She reached out a hand to the tiger in front of her, seeing her own bright hand in blue reach out and touched his forearm. She should have felt only air. She had to be hallucinating the whole thing from the frustration of it all. But her hand touched fur. Warm, soft fur.

"No way," she said breathlessly.

She looked up and saw Arise smile down at her.

"This can't be happening."

"It is happening," he purred.

"No, it's not."

"Would you like me to bite you so you know it is real?" he teased.

"I can't be a dragon."

"Why not?"

"It's just not who I am! I-I can't…"

It was truth time. And the truth was, she wasn't the right type of person to be a prophesized mythological beast back from the dead. That type of thing suited Naruto or Sasuke or Ino or even Kakashi so much more than it suited her. She was just a nobody. She couldn't be great like her friends. It…it went against her entire history. And it was breaking her heart.

"Who are you Sakura?" he growled at her.

"I'm nobody!" she cried, tears leaking out of her eyes and being absorbed by the cloth of her hitai-ate. "I'm a nobody who can't save anyone!"

"Who have you failed?" he asked scathingly.

"My friends. My precious friends. I couldn't…I wasn't enough, Arise!"

"Is that what you want to be, Sakura? Do you always want to fail?! To never be enough?!"

"No! I don't!" she sobbed. "But I can't…I don't know how to be anything else!"

She hands clenched at his fur, trying to find some grip on something.

"So then what's stopping you?"

"W-what?"

"What is stopping you from becoming more than the person who is never enough?!"

It was like a slap to the face.

"I-I…I…"

But she couldn't think of anything. How do you explain that was the way life worked? How do you explain something that was unwritten, yet engraved into you? She could never be anything special. She would always be overshadowed and unable to stand on her own. That was just fact.

Why was that anyway? It was a good question and she searched for the answer. The more she searched, the angrier she became. Always the burden. Always the one to be saved. That was Haruno Sakura. It was so unfair! She didn't want to be that way. She wanted…she wanted…

"Who do you want to be, Sakura?" Arise demanded.

"I want to be enough!" she screamed, the tears stopping.

"I want to be the one who can protect everyone," she said softly. "I want to be the one who can save the day. I want to be able to protect my precious people. I want to be amazingly strong!"

"Then be what you are, dragon cub," he purred with an affectionate smile.

She nodded and let go of the tiger. She took a few steps back, no longer faltering and unsteady. She could clearly see the ground beneath her feet. She stomped on it a few times for good measure and looked up, finally able to stand on her own two feet.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry. I rushed the last bit. It's not as good as I would like it to be. Or as long. But I promised I would update by Christmas. If there are any of you that don't mind reviewing, please tell me if you like the shorter length or want more in the chapter. It's a lot shorter than the insanely long fourth chapter and I want to know if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

Merry Christmas everyone! And a Happy New Year!

Sani


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